I'll Show You The Sky
by Joei Write
Summary: Prince Amethyst GeoEron was best friends with Princess Luna as fillies, but he disappeared without a trace after his colt years. Upon learning this, Twilight and her friends set off to find this prince for Luna so that she'll be happy again, but their quest is put to a halt by a new pegasus pony arriving in Ponyville, and he's got a secret that could change everything.
1. Luna's Real Blue

_Prince Amethyst GeoEron…just his name sent shivers down the spines of all the townsponies and royalty throughout the land. Even with so few years to his name, the Prince was more of a ruler in his short life than his parents ever were. He was a pony's pony, always going out and socializing with the commoners, or as he referred to them as all his trust worthy friends. Despite his royal status, he never accepted being called Prince, he always asked his friends to speak to him in a normal voice, and that no formalities were required, more than often, the Prince would ask his the people to call him by one of his many nicknames. Most ponies in his kingdom were nice and tranquil, but he was far more sophisticated than the strongest elders in the castle. As he was a member of the royal family, he, like all the others, possessed a horn and wings, enabling him to fly like a Pegasus, and use magic like a unicorn. Princess Celestia and her sister Luna would often visit their kingdom because of how friendly the ponyfolk were to them. A few weeks just out of his colt years, he disappeared from the land, no one knows why. His playmate in the castle was heartbroken, and the Celestial Sisters stopped coming to the land. The Prince took only one thing with him, his best friend. No one knows where he went, or how he managed to slip past the guards of the palace, but after his disappearance, the village ponies and the royal family was never the same. After many years of the Prince never coming home, it was assumed, but not socially accepted, that the young Prince was dead. It was soon after this that the events of Nightmare Moon took place, to which Princess Celestia banished her sister to the moon, and for the 1,000 years ever since, the Prince's legacy still lives in the hearts and minds of his people, despite him being thought to be dead for so long._

"Wow…" Twilight said after reading the excerpt from one of her books in the library on ancient rulers. "I really feel sorry for that guy, he sounded like he was so nice to his people. According to this…" And she read the little piece of information again, "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both knew him, maybe they remember some things about this…Prince Amethyst GeoEron." Twilight had no idea how a boy could have such a strange name. "Spike…!" She called, and Spike slid down the ladder and walked up to her.

"Yeah Twilight…? What do you need?" He asked her.

"Take a letter to the Princess…" Spike grabbed a piece of paper and quill and was ready to write.

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_I have finally chosen my subject for the report you assigned me on old members of the royal family. I've chosen to do this assignment on Prince Amethyst GeoEron, the prince who went missing a 1,000 years ago shortly before you were forced to banish your sister to the moon. It says in the book I've read that you and Luna both knew him back then, so I ask that you give me any information on this Prince that you remember. _

_Your faithful student,_

_Twilight Sparkle_

Spike finished writing down the letter and then breathed his sending flame out the window. It was odd because Twilight was expecting a response in only a few moments, but there was no answer. "Hmm…I guess she's busy. She'll get back to me later…" Twilight concluded and then turned back to the book, but then she heard the sound of stardust lingering into her room in the library and turned to see a mass amount of sparkling blue dust pouring in through the window and landed on the ground, which formed up into the shape of a dark blue pony, no pony other than Princess Luna.

"Greeting Twilight Sparkle…" Luna said as she collected the last bit of her travel dust.

"Princess Luna…" She said and walked over to her.

"I hath told thee to callith us…Luna…" Luna said in a quiet voice like Fluttershy had taught her to do back on Nightmare Night. But Twilight just gave her a stern glare after she use her Canterlot archaic terms again.

"Um…Luna…you're doing it again…" She pointed out raising her hoof and pointing to Luna's mouth.

"Oh…forgive me Twilight Sparkle…" She said realizing her mistake. "I seem to not be fully broken out of my former voice. I suppose that is likely of me, as I still haven't fully adjusted to this new world." Luna said and made a zipper motion over her lips and then winked at Twilight making them both laugh. Twilight then turned to Spike who was just watching without a care and told him,

"Spike…why don't you take a break for a while?" Spike just shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the main room in the library where they were. Twilight turned back to Luna and Luna readied herself to speak.

"Anyways, I have come to thee…to you…" She corrected herself again, "Because I wanted to be here in person to tell you that…" Her sight was diverted from Twilight when she looked over her head for a moment and saw the book she was reading. She stopped all her trains of thought and walked over to the book and looked down and read over the small portion on the Prince. Twilight noticed the sadness in her face as she read and soon she was starting to wonder if Luna knew more about Prince Amethyst than previously thought. "What is this Twilight? Why are you reading about this Prince?" Luna asked her.

"Well, your sister gave me my newest assignment and I have to write a report on an old ruler that lived a long time ago. This Prince sounded interesting to me…it even says you knew him back then before you became Nightmare Moon." Twilight explained, but Luna's expression only saddened more.

"Yes…of course…I knew him. One thousand years ago back when he and I were both fillies, I was his playmate." Luna told Twilight. Twilight got excited at what Luna had told her.

"You mean the playmate they talked about in the book was you? That's why you and Celestia went to visit their kingdom so often?" Luna nodded her head.

"Yes indeed, Prince Amethyst was my greatest friend. We stopped going to the castle after he went missing because I tried so hard to forget about him. That's because every time I did I only missed him more. If fact, now that I reflect on it, I think my sorrow for losing him was one of the things that turned me into Nightmare Moon. I cared about him so much…"

Twilight started getting jittery over all this information, and Luna even sounded like she was hinting at a romance she had with the young colt back then. "So were you two ever…you know…in a _like _like…sort of way?" But Luna denied it instantly.

"But of course not Twilight Sparkle, this would imply I had romantic feeling for this boy! I cared about him, but not so much that I would say I…" Luna stopped mid-sentence again, "I…" She sighed in depression. "I can't talk with you about this right now Twilight. I'll come back another time…" She said and evaporated into the dark blue mist and drifted out the window in a shining display of her transportation powers.

"My gosh…" Twilight said, after that she looked at the book and picked it up with her magic and ran out the door into Ponyville with a big smile on her face to find her friends. She had a great idea, and she needed her friends to do it.


	2. Do You Seal What I Seal?

**I'm sorry for not making an author's note on the first chapter, I just wanted all of you to read the story and not judge me as an author before you read my writing. I hope all of you that did read it have enjoyed it so far, because this story has only begun. In case you didn't understand anything that happened in the last chapter let me summarize it for you for your own convenience…**

**Twilight Sparkle has been given a new assignment to write an essay on an ancient ruler, and the ruler she's chosen is Princess Luna's old playmate from fillyhood, Prince Amethyst GeoEron. However, this Prince went missing a long time ago and Luna is heartbroken about it. After learning this information Twilight Sparkle, has raced out of her library home with an idea.**

I'll Show You the Sky

Chapter 2

Do You Seal What I Seal?

Twilight sprinted through Ponyville carrying her book using her horn with a massive smile on her face. She had a great idea, and she didn't even have a second thought about the information that Princess Luna was going to tell her before she left, sadden by her memories of her playing with her royal friend. While running through Ponyville, Twilight didn't let herself have any distractions; she was determined to get to Sugarcube Corner to tell her friends about her idea. Typically, Twilight would've only expected Pinkie Pie to be there as she spent most of her days laughing, throwing parties, and eating candy. However, to her luck as she ran through the doors of Sugarcube Corner, she spotted Applejack and Pinkie Pie sitting on a table talking with a newspaper in front of them. Twilight smiled when she saw this, the thought of her idea possibly becoming true relished in her mind like a ripening fruit. And the reality of seeing more than just Pinkie Pie made it seem like it was one step closer to becoming true.

"Hey everypony…!" She said and directed it to her two friends, who noticed her and responded with big smiles.

"Well howdy Twilight…!" Applejack answered her, and then she looked to the see the book in her horn grasp and looked at it funny. "What's that there book doing being hung up like dirty work boots?"

"Yeah…!Iknowthatsometimesponieshang thingsupbecausetheywanttofor getaboutthembutIreallydon'tthinkthat'saneffectivewaytoforgetabout somethingsometimesinmyopinio nitwouldbebettertojustthrowi tawayormaybebashitupintolitt letinyediblepiecesbutI…" Pinkie Pie's long rant was cut short by Applejack catching her attention with a whistle.

"Whoa nelly…hold on there Sugar Cube! I think Twilight was about to tell us something…" She reminded the most talkative pony of the group.

"Oh…sorry Twilight…" Pinkie Pie said in a still happy and jittery tone, like she had just given Gummy a bath in chocolate milk.

"That's alright Pinkie…look at this…" She said and put the book down on the table next to her friends and used her magic to turn to the page about the Prince. Applejack read the passage and her eyes widened and said,

"Shoot…that Prince colt seems like one hefty guy. Shame he had to disappear…" Applejack looked like she was really concerned about the missing links. "I wonder how the Princesses have been since this happened. Not like he's missed much since then though." She finished her conclusions, but Twilight came back with what Luna had told her.

"That's the thing Applejack, Princess Luna was Prince Amethyst's playmate, she told me in person…but she's not holding up to well about it." Twilight stopped, and Pinkie Pie started.

"OhIwouldjusthateifthathappen edtomeandGummyIdon'tknowwhatIwoulddowithoutGumm yHe'smybestestbestfriendinthewho lewideworldandifsomethingwer etohappentohimIwouldgocrazyI wouldgobonkersIwouldlookinev erynookandcrannyuntilIfoundh imandwhenIdidIprobablyfindhi masetofgummyteethandjawsjust sowecouldhavesomefunand…" Pinkie went off again, but this time Twilight and Applejack just ignored her.

"So anyways…" Twilight continued, "I was thinking, maybe the six of us could go out on a little quest to find out what happened to this pony. Maybe if we find the truth we'll make Luna feel better."

"Make Luna feel better!" Twilight and Applejack turned around and saw Rarity and Fluttershy at the door. "If she wanted to feel better she should get a new necklace! That lunar collar she's wearing is lovely…! But it's so…1000 years ago…" Rarity decreed on Luna's fashion.

"I think she's fine…" Fluttershy said from behind. Applejack turned back to the book on the table and asked Twilight,

"Hey Twilight, is there anything else in this book about this guy?" Twilight flipped the page and told her,

"This page has a list of all the things he did around the kingdom, but other than that…there's not much known about him." Applejack looked over the list and read the list out loud. All five ponies gathered around the table to listen.

_Talents and Services of Prince Amethyst GeoEron:_

_Cooking, Animal Care, Reading, Cleaning, Baby Sitting, Traveling, Designer, Singer, Actor, Flyer, Magician, Dare Devil, Stunt Coordinator, Dancer, Tri-lingual, Labor Service, Gardening, Swimming…_

The last one was in the form of a quote, and it was from Princess Luna when she was a filly,

"_I know that he is great at everything he tries, but the way my sister and I see it…the best thing he can do…is be my friend"-Princess Luna of Equestria_

"Oh my…" Rarity started, "He must've had a keen fashion sense if it's notable in this book. I wonder where I can find a picture of any of his designs?"

"I'd like to see him work with animals; it'd be great have some help around my cottage." Fluttershy said in a meek yet anxious tone.

"Ifhe'sadancerandbabysitterthenI'dliketomeethimIcouldalwaysus ehelpwiththeCakebabiesandI'dliketoseehisdanceskillstoo!I'msurehe'dbereallyreallygoodatit!" This time Pinkie Pie stopped on her own.

"I'd like to see him at work, shoot howdy…cooking, labor, gardening, cleaning…that's all in a day's work over at Sweet Apple Arches." Applejack noted.

"I can't help but wonder what like of books he read! And if he was as strong in magic as the book says he is!" Twilight proclaimed.

"Rainbow Dash would like this…!" Applejack announced to the five.

"I'd like what…?!" Rainbow Dash yelled, flying right into the candy shop as if on cue.

"Look at this Rainbow Dash…this Prince had a serious thing for flying and stunts. And I'm sure he had a killer clothes line too!" Rarity said, putting her hooves together and imagining the designs.

"Eh…I don't think so! We all know that I'm best flyer in Equestria, past, present, and most definitely future! I'm sure this Prince had nothing on me if he were still around!" She said and took back off into the sky leaving her rainbow colored trail behind her like normal. As she flew away, she heard Twilight yell, _But you don't understand Rainbow Dash! He had…_The volume of her voice got so quiet he couldn't hear her and just brushed it off. She sped through the sky with her slim grin and thought to herself,

"Where should I go next?" Rainbow Dash thought out loud, and then she yelled, "The Everfree Forest!" Rainbow knew very well that going into the Everfree Forest alone was a bad idea, but she was always up for a challenge, so she raced over it and looked down over all the trees below her without a care.

After a few minutes of flying, she began to get bored as nothing was happening. No horrible noises, no creatures snapping at her, and no serious winds or clouds to fight. "Geez this is boring…I came here expecting a challenge!" She said and started to fly off when she heard someone beneath her yell.

"Woohoo…! Alright…!" Rainbow Dash, still scarred from her hero days, gasped and flew fast towards the sound.

"Don't worry helpless citizen! The Awesomeness of Rainbow Dash will…!" She didn't have time to finish. She found the source of the yell. It was a pony looking over a small lake in a clearing among the trees and they seemed to be yelling at the water. Curious, Rainbow Dash flew down behind the pony and looked at what they were doing. The pony's ear twitched, and they turned around.

"Oh hi there…" The voice told Rainbow Dash that it was a boy. He was about the same age as the Mane Six, maybe slightly older with a dark blue coat, aura violet colored mane with darker purple shades running down his mane and tail. The thing Rainbow Dash paid most attention too was the fact that he was a pegasus pony like she was, but his wings looked really bunched up and compacted again his sides. She assumed he just had smaller wings and was ashamed about it. "Who are you?" He said.

"I'm Rainbow Dash…who are you?" She threw back, but the he-pony suddenly coward in place and folded his ears back.

"Uh…I'm…uh…" He seemed nervous to answer. "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash…I just…" Just then a splash was heard behind them, and Rainbow Dash saw a grey blob fly out of the water and land back in it and disappear beneath the surface.

"What was that thing?" She asked loudly.

"Relax…that was just my friend! Nice one Gregory!" He yelled to the water. After that the grey blob shot back up and flew out of the water, but instead landed on the solid ground next to the colt where Rainbow Dash saw that it was really a seal. "Rainbow Dash…this is one of my pets and best friend…Gregory the Harp Seal!" He said and gave the big seal a hug.

"Nice to meet you…Gregory!" She said sarcastically. "Now…what's your name?" The colt looked timid again as he did before, but instead answered confidently.

"My name is Age…and I just introduced you to Gregory the seal." He said and used his hoof to point to the harp seal sitting next to him and barked a happy noise like all seals do. "Now all we need is…" Before he finished a flash of red, orange, and yellow shot in from of their faces, Rainbow Dash shot back in surprise and shock, but Age and Gregory just smiled. "That was perfect Tine!" Age yelled up to the glowing thing. Rainbow Dash looked and saw that Tine was a phoenix, just like Philomena. Tine then landed on Gregory's head and then the three just stared at Rainbow Dash. "Well…that's everyone!" Age declared proudly.

"Age…" Rainbow started, "Age the dark blue and purple _male_ pony, with a fatty seal named Gregory as a pet, which isn't awesome, but I have to give you props on the phoenix. I thought only members of the royal family could have phoenixes for pets."

"Nope…not where we come from." Age said happily.

"Anyway…" Rainbow said trying to change the subject. "I see you're a pegasus like me…"

"Uh…what?" Age said like he'd never been told that before.

"A pegasus…? It's the type of pony you are? You have wings!" Age then looked at his wings, without opening them, and got calmer eyes.

"Oh yeah…sometimes I…forget…that I'm…a…pegasus." Age said slowly and meekly, like how Fluttershy talks.

"What's wrong with your wings? Let me see them, open them up." But Age ran behind Gregory and Tine,

"That isn't necessary…" He said covering his wings and hiding them from Rainbow Dash.

"What…why?" She asked him, taking a sudden interest in his little secret. But Age hid himself in-between his pets/friends and refused to let Rainbow Dash come any closer to him and his wings.

**So that's Age, the strange Colt Pegasus in Ponyville that'll throw everyone for a spin and his two best friends, Gregory the Seal, and Tine the Phoenix. Gregory is a boy, and Tine is a girl. Age, like I said is a pegasus and is male. Rainbow Dash seems interested in him, but he seems awfully shy like Fluttershy. I wonder what connections this has to the story, and why he's being so secretive about his wings. Well I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out! See you all next time! **


	3. Coming of Age

**Time for another chapter of this story! School work has been a pain, and I had to catch up in over a months' worth of work in only a week. Anyway, I did it and now I'm back and ready to give everyone a good chapter! Since a lot of the reviewers are guests, I'll answer some of their questions and comments instead of sending them a PM like I normally would. **

**Q1. earth hart- Nice chapter, but try to stop jumping around so much from character to character; a warning or a line of dots or something?**

**A1. Sorry, with 10 characters, it's hard to keep everyone intact. I'll try to make it more obvious who's speaking. At least it's not as bad as my "What Are Friends For?" Series, there I have to keep over 30+ characters intact.**

**Q2. blaurgh sis- Pinkie Pie's dialogue was too hard to read. **

**A2. Well we all know how fast Pinkie Pie talks in the show, I was trying to keep her in character because I myself have trouble understanding her sometimes. But I'll make her talk normal, just read it fast instead!**

**Those are the only big concerns and questions I have in my box right now. If anyone has anymore, just review or send me a PM and I'll get back to you with answers.**

I'll Show You the Sky

Chapter 3

Coming of Age

It was more than a few minutes that Age was being chased around in circles by Rainbow Dash to catch a whim of why this pegasus was being so stubborn as to not letting her see what was wrong with his wings. As she chased him around Gregory, and Tine was still sitting on his head, Rainbow was thinking of all the possibilities that could be the issue with him.

_Maybe he's embarrassed to show me his compared to mine, or maybe his wings are broken. Oh…I know! His wings are so small, he's insecure about them!_

Rainbow Dash thought she nailed it, but Gregory stuck out his tail and tripped Rainbow as they had been running around in circles for a while and Age wasn't the only pony getting annoyed. Rainbow's eyes swirled around in her head like Derpy's, but she regained her senses by shaking her head from side to side quickly and looking up to see the strange threesome staring at her.

"You…alright?" Age asked in a kind way, yet still nervous about her reaction. In the short time he'd known Rainbow Dash, she'd already shown how pushy and short tempered she is.

"Alright…? ALRIGHT…!?" She screamed, and Age back off into his friends. He figured this might happen. _Here we go…_Age thought right before Rainbow began her rant. "If you had just shown me your wings I never would've fallen! I don't even see what the problem is! They just look a little small that's it, no big fuss…even though mine are better…" Rainbow said just being herself, "That's no reason to hide them!" Age stepped forth and sighed in a downward direction and tried to apologize.

"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash…" He started, "It's just…my wings are very…" Rainbow Dash waited to see what he would say, "Different…and I really don't like them at all. I tried getting rid of them once, but you can see that didn't work." Rainbow just gasped very loudly at what Age just said.

"You're a pegasus pony…the coolest…speediest…most crowd worthy…audience pleasing…fast flying…and by far the awesome-est pony to ever grace the skies of Equestria…" She yelled every one of her descriptions, "And you tried to get rid of your wings!" She said throwing down her hooves into ground and cracking the land beneath her a little. Age made a sour face and held up his left foreleg, to which Tine glided down and sat on it with her wings spread out.

"Yes, I did…it's true." But then he gave his bird a wink and she shot into the sky and showed off her wings like Philomena had when she revived. "I wish I had wings more like that! So elegant and graceful, and more normal for a…pegasus." Age said and bit his tongue before saying 'pegasus' like he was hiding something. Rainbow Dash noticed, and kept that in the back of her mind.

"Well why don't we go see my friend Egghead…I mean…Twilight?" Rainbow said, remembering that ever since she read Daring Doo, she now considered herself and egghead.

He seemed hesitant to the idea of letting somepony perform magic on him, but deep inside he wanted his wings gone. The decision was made in little time, and he accepted, but dared not tell Rainbow Dash why he wanted his wings gone so badly. "Alright…" He said, "If your friend can really make my wings disappear, I guess it's worth a shot."

_He accepted…awesome…now we'll see what's up with those feathered natural disasters. _Rainbow thought to herself. "Sweet…!" She yelled out loud after her thought and started hovering in the air with her wings. "Come to Ponyville, it's that way, I'll meet you there later." And she took off flying back towards home leaving her male companion in her rainbow colored dust.

Tine made a squawking noise to Age, and he shook his head in a 'no' response. Gregory then barked and clapped his flippers and nudged Age's side, but he shook both of hints off from both of his friends. "I'm sorry you guys…but come on…how long have we been together? If anyone knows why I want to get rid of these stupid things it's the two of you. But you can't tell anyone…okay?" He asked them, Tine saluted with her wing, and Gregory just barked again. Age laughed at his seal, "It's amazing I've learned how to understand you when all you do is bark like that." After a shared chuckle, "Tine, show us the way to Ponyville." Tine soared up high and looked around, she saw the town through the clouds and directed her two travel buddies on the ground, and just like that, they were off.

(Back in Ponyville)

"I'm serious you guys…he's more socially awkward than Zecora was!" Rainbow Dash tried to explain to her friends about the bizarre male she had run into.

Twilight just shook her head and walked up to Rainbow, "Look Rainbow Dash, we all know you've never been good with meeting other ponies, but this time…I think I'm not the only one who thinks you're over reacting a bit." Twilight made it clear that everyone was against Rainbow on this, but she refused to give up.

"But I'm not kidding he's so…so…" Rainbow Dash was cut off by a bark from Gregory, and then they all turned to see Age walking with his seal over the bridge into Ponyville and Tine flying overhead.

"Greetings everypony…my name is…" Age began, but was stopped by Rarity.

"Age…yes, we've heard all about you from Rainbow Dash. She speaks very…soundly of you." Rarity was trying to be nice about it. Twilight then stepped up and smiled at him.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, I'm Princess Celestia's student, and I welcome you to Ponyville. These are my friends…Pinkie Pie…" Twilight pointed to Pinkie, to which she waved and smiled, and then stared hopping in place. Age giggled at her playfulness.

"I can bet she's the fun, happy, jittery, party goer of the group." Twilight stared at him with awe.

"Why yes she is…" Twilight was impressed, but stayed on hoof. "Anyway, that's Applejack…" But Age just interrupted again,

"Applejack…well with a name like that I can assume you work on Sweet Apple Acres. Your sister is named Apple Bloom, you have a brother named Big Macintosh, and your Granny Smith. Am I right?" Age said proud of himself, Applejack was stunned.

"Well dust my boots and call me a mule…how'd you know all that? We've never met before?" Applejack asked him. Age's response was about as subtle as it gets.

"I've heard good things about the Apple Family, and I heard the apples from your farm are to die for." Age said and gave her a wink. Twilight cut them off,

"Okay…" She said with a nervous chuckle, "Back to what I was saying, this is…"

"Rainbow Dash…believe me I know by this point." Age stopped her and gave a thankful look, and then glanced at Rainbow Dash, to which she just turned away. "Here Twilight, I want to try and do this on my own." He said and pranced up to the other two members. He looked over Rarity, check out her mane, but didn't get to close as to make her freak out. "Your name is Rarity, I've heard of your designs. I saw one on a whim a while ago and it was awesome. I can see why you have a Cutie Mark in fashion." Rarity seemed like she took a liking to the sound of that.

"Oh…well thank you kind sir…nice to be appreciated by everyone." All her friends gave her a stern look, they knew why, and Rarity cowered for the moment.

"And you are…Fluttershy…I know that you specialize in animal care, would mine looking after Gregory and Tine while I try and get settled in?" He asked her kindly, normally, Fluttershy would've backed off and not said anything, but the fact that he had a seal and a phoenix for pets made her heart melt with excitement and she warmed up to him right away.

"Oh sure…I would love to look after your friends. I haven't had to take care of a phoenix since that incident with Philomena. And I'm sure Gregory would love to meet the other seal I have around my cottage."** (If you watch the episode 'May the Best Pet Win', Fluttershy is shown to be caring for a seal in her little pen. So yes, she does have a seal for Gregory to meet.) **

"Thank you Fluttershy…" Age expressed, and then he turned to Twilight, whom Rainbow Dash had flown beside and was now hovering next to her. "Is that everyone?" He asked in a sweetly innocent tone.

"Thankfully…" Twilight said with a groan. Rainbow Dash came to her ear and whispered,

"I told you…there's something weird about him." Rainbow was herself as always and crossed her hooves and just floated in air with a smug little grin.

Later on, Age was walking through Ponyville with Rainbow Dash at his side, how she wound up getting stuck there, she didn't remember. They walked throughout the town and everyone was so kind to their new arrival, passing out flowers, hearty hellos, and treats for himself and his pets, and he quickly was the talk of the whole town. While walking back through Ponyville towards Fluttershy's cottage, Age was walking by Sugarcube Corner, and Rainbow Dash had had just about enough.

"Oh come on…!" She yelled, "Can we please get back! I'm so tired from walking around all day…"

Age frowned at her, "We've been walking for 20 minutes."

"That's all day according to me…so can we please just…" Their conversation was interrupted by Mrs. Cake screaming from the upstairs window. They looked to see Pound Cake spinning out of control with his wings outside the window, flying right out of Mrs. Cake's reach. Rainbow Dash gasped at what she saw and shot towards Pound Cake, but she missed and the air current only made Pound Cake spin faster making him laugh, but causing Mrs. Cake to scream. Age took a closer look at the situation, and then trotted over underneath Pound Cake and stopped with a big smile.

"Hey there little guy!" Age said up to Pound Cake, who stopped spinning and looked down at who was talking to him. "I realize you're having fun and all, but you're scaring your Mommy out of her mind, could you please come down now before she has a heart attack?" Age asked the young pegasus pony nicely, and very brotherly. Pound Cake giggled and drifted down to Age and he caught the little fellow in his arms and carried the laughing baby back to Mr. and Mrs. Cake inside.

"Thanks so much Age…" Mr. Cake said after he returned the baby to them. "I can see why the town is already talking about you. You have some great pony skills." He thanked the flightless pegasus.

"Won over a lifetime Mr. Cake…" Age responded, "I've always been really good with ponies. I guess it's just natural." During the conversation between Mr. Cake and Age, Mrs. Cake had gone upstairs with Pound Cake and put him in his crib and shut the window, and then she had come back downstairs.

"I have to ask…" Mrs. Cake started to Age. "How'd you know he was doing that on purpose? He looked so scared." Age giggled himself and answered her like a baby sitter.

"When I was little, I used to like to give people little jolts too. Seems little Mr. Panic up there likes pulling pranks too. I could tell by the way he was laughing while he was spinning." Age felt confident in his answer, and he laughed at it himself. Mrs. Cake just sighed with relief,

"Well we'll keep that in mind. Thank you so much, come back any time, we'll have a 'thank you' treat for you." She said and started walking into the kitchen, but Age stopped her.

"That's quite alright Mrs. Cake, no thanks is required." Age said and walked out of the shop. Rainbow Dash had flown back and saw the whole thing through the window, and her mouth was hanging open. When Age walked out, he saw that Rainbow was watching, "Oh Rainbow Dash…there you are…I was getting worried." But Rainbow Dash shook her head, and then what he had said just hit her.

"You…you were getting worried?" She asked him.

"Of course…I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt on my watch." Age said to Rainbow. A warm and fuzzy feeling sprouted up inside Rainbow Dash, and she didn't like the feeling. She had been hovering in the air like she always is, but drifted down to the ground and walked over to him to say something, but Age spoke first. "I hope we can all hang out together later. Maybe you and I can be friends…" He said while starting to walk away. "I have to go to get Gregory and Tine…" He stopped and turned back to her. "See you around?" Rainbow Dash still couldn't explain this weird feeling in her gut, to her, it wasn't awesome, and it was rather irritating, but she still didn't _not_ like it at the same time.

"Yeah…totally…" Rainbow answered and watched Age walk off. Her mind suddenly became clouded with guilt as she thought to herself,

_Huh…he's actually really…really nice. Maybe I misjudged him. Perhaps he's not so weird after all. I guess his wings will have to wait._

**Looks like Rainbow Dash likes Age after all. Now I'm just wondering, do you? I'm going to try something I'm doing on my "8,523 Miles" Story, at the end of every chapter I pose questions and you get to answer them.**

**How do you think Rainbow Dash feels about Age?**

**What Element of Harmony do you think Age represents the most?**

**Is Age bearing any resemblance to the Prince? How?**

**Why is Twilight suddenly acting so sour towards Age?**

**And for those who had the reviews and comments, I hope I answered each and every one of them!**


	4. Blueblood Mind

**Not much is to be said this time around, and not much is going to be done either. All I'll really say is, remember that thing that Luna wanted to tell Twilight before? And remember how Age wouldn't let Rainbow Dash see his wings? And now it's time to respond to some fan reviews.**

**Q1. trigrbrony777- Oh the questions at the end weren't necessary. I think it's better without them.**

**A1. I thought so too. I was just trying them out to see if anyone liked them. You're right, a hint should be a hint, nothing more, and should only be noticed if the reader caught it.**

**Q2. browntown747- I'm thinking Age is the Prince himself. I think he got warped to the future.**

**A2. No, this is not the case. But your out-of-the-box thinking is very intriguing. It wouldn't surprise me if you guessed it before it was revealed, because that is a very good guess.**

**Q3. Guest- I check DAILY for updates, so yes…this story is AWESOME. **

**A3. So sorry for that then, school has been killing me and I lost the sensation to write for a while and I just couldn't focus. But I'm back and I hope you and everyone forgives me.**

**Thank you for the enthusiasm and suggestions. I also drew up and colored a picture of what Age looks like for you to see. I don't have a account, but I'll think of a way if you really want to see it. So without further ado…**

I'll Show You the Sky

Chapter 4

Blueblood Mind

The proud pegasus pony walked through Ponyville towards Fluttershy's cottage out in the back areas to pick up his two trusty friends. He had be thinking about the way Rainbow Dash had treated him since he arrived in Ponyville, and he was beginning to take a liking to her, not in that way, but enough to be there when he needed to. As he walked, he got yet more recognition from the townsponies he saw and waved to, getting more gratifications, and praise for his boldness with Pound Cake. Age was unlike any normal pegasus Ponyville had seen, he was very different, and everyone felt that there was something off about him, but no one cared, as he was still thoughtful, considerate, and friendly. When he began walking up the slope to the door to Fluttershy's cottage, he heard some noise being made from behind and perked his ears up to listen to the racket. It sounded as if Fluttershy was running around and chasing something, so Age turned around and walked behind her home to the little pen area she had on her property and saw a few things. The first thing was a gate, a chicken coop, and a nervous Fluttershy running around after a bunny, whom Age assumed was one of her pets.

"Fluttershy…!" Age yelled and ran up to her, and she squeaked and curled up into a ball on the ground after she jumped of fright. "Fluttershy it's only me…" He said kindly, to which she looked through her hair and saw the blue pony.

"Oh Age…I left Gregory and Tine inside. They are really nice, friendly animals…now if you'll excuse me…" She said and continued running after the bunny. Age watched the chase and got a curious mind over the situation.

"Uh…what exactly is going on here?" He asked, looking to see if he could lend a hoof.

"Angel Bunny won't take his bath. I tried telling him over and over that it was going to be fun, but he won't listen!" She said loudly while continuously chasing the small creature.

Age shrugged his shoulders, deciding it wasn't his business and walked inside the back door of Fluttershy's home and saw Tine sitting on a bird stand with her head tucked under her wing, clearly taking a nap. He also looked over and saw that Gregory was lying on the floor on his back with his stomach stretched out, it was obvious he was washed and was just relaxing. Age gently crept over to Tine and nudged her wing, "Hey Tine…" He whispered. The bird unsheathed its head and squawked with delight as she saw her owner in her presence. Tine then flew up a little and then re-landed on Age's head, gripping his purple mane with her talons, enough to hold on, but not so much as to hurt him. He then walked over to Gregory and placed his hoof on the seal's stomach. This made the harp blob shoot up to see who touched him, and he barked with happiness when he saw who it was. "Hello Gregory…still lazy as ever I see…" Age giggled and the three moved out of the back door to thank Fluttershy for her temporary watch of the animals, when they saw that Angel had climbed up a tree and was crossing his arms and pouting at Fluttershy, who was on the ground begging up to him. "Looks like we better go…" Age said and turned to go, but the phoenix on his head jumped once making his head bobble and getting his attention. "I know I'm good with animals Tine, but this really isn't…" The phoenix gave him a glare as best she could, and Age frowned. "Fine, I'll do it…" And he walked over to Fluttershy's side and looked up to Angel. Fluttershy saw Age give Tine a command and the bird flew up onto the branch with the rabbit. After a few peeps from the two pets, Angel climbed on Tine's back and flew down to the ground, to which Angel climbed off and onto Fluttershy's head. "There you go Fluttershy; he shouldn't give you any more trouble about his bath." Fluttershy smiled and Angel nestled in on her head.

"Thank you so much Age, I could never get Angel to listen to me so easily. How'd you do it?"

"I don't know, I guess I've gotten really good at dealing with animals after living with these two for so long." He said and acknowledged Gregory and Tine.

"Well…if you're interested, I could use your help around the cottage tomorrow. I haven't ever seen a pegasus pony who's good with animals like you before. The help would really be appreciated." Fluttershy was sincere, and Age nodded.

"Sure…I'll stop by tomorrow. What time should I be here?"

"Oh whenever…if it's not too much trouble." She replied, and meekly leaked out like she always did.

"No need to be nervous, I'll be there. Bye Fluttershy…!" He said and waved with one hoof as he walked away towards Ponyville, seeking to stop by the library before sundown.

Meanwhile, at Twilight's home in the library, Rainbow Dash was sitting on the steps reading the next Daring-Do book while Twilight was ruffling through the book she had on the origins of stallion coloration and towns and cities in Equestria. Rainbow looked up from her book and saw Twilight going through the pages in her book like a mad-pony, and this made Rainbow raise an eyebrow at her. "Um, Twilight…what's the hassle?"

"It just doesn't make sense Rainbow Dash…" She began, "That pegasus has never been to Ponyville before. He has the strangest color pattern I've ever seen on any colt, or anypony for that matter. How could he know so much? Okay…let's see…" And she continued her book speed read, during this, Rainbow Dash walked over to her and tried to peer over her shoulder.

"Look Twilight, I think maybe you're going a little overboard about this. I saw what he's like first-hoof; he's a really nice guy. I just wish he'd actually fly with those wings of his…" Rainbow reminded Twilight.

"And that's another thing!" She exclaimed out, making Rainbow roll her eyes, "How come he never flies? He's a pegasus…! His wings look like they haven't been used in years, and he seems perfectly fine with just walking around. I tell you Rainbow Dash, something just isn't right about him."

"Well…" Rainbow Dash suddenly got an idea that might make things simpler; for she too had had her suspicions on Age, but she set them aside after she saw his real character. Though she was still curious on the wing issue as well, but she promised she'd leave it until a better time. "What's so strange about him? Maybe I can help you figure it out." Twilight stopped page turning and gave Rainbow a glare.

"Alright…for starters…" And she used her magic to lift up a scroll from the table, she levitated it over to her and let if fall open, it was a list of all the odd things about Age. "His mane and tail are purple, with darker purple streaks. Males aren't supposed to have that coloration, it should be impossible to have that combination on a stallion." She then flipped through more pages and it contained a listing of bizarre color combos seen on ponies over the years, but none matched up with Age.

"I heard once that purple is the color of royalty." Rainbow suggested.

"Please Rainbow Dash…we both know that Age isn't a royal. If he was he'd probably have a unicorn horn along with those wings." And the light bulb in her head clicked, "And that's another thing. What's with his dark blue coat? And those strange purple eyes he's got? I've been checking and checking and checking, but there's just been no pony like him in recorded history." Twilight sighed, not wanting to accept defeat, "I guess I should give it a rest and get back to work on my essay on Prince Amethyst." Rainbow lightened up at mention of the Prince's name.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me…! Do you have any recorded histories on his flying tricks? You said one of his skills was a dare devil. I want to see if they're any good." But Twilight shook her head.

"Sorry Rainbow, there's only that little excerpt on him in the book. Nothing else is really known, or how good he really was at them." Just then a knock was heard at the door. "Spike…!" Twilight called.

"On it…!" And Spike appeared out of a nearby room and ran over to the door. As he opened it, he saw three figures, a pegasus, a seal, and a phoenix, it was no other than Age and his companions. "Oh…you must be the Age I've been hearing about." The blue pegasus blushed,

"Aw…thanks Spike." Spike jittered after age spoke.

"Ooh…he knows my name!" And Spike ran over to Twilight and tapped on her shoulder. "Twilight, Age is here…and he knows my name!" Spike yelped happily and ran back into the last room he was in.

Once gone, Twilight turned around and looked to the open door. Age hadn't walked in yet and was still just standing there. "Um…may I come in?" He asked.

"Sure…just leave those two outside…I'm doing some homework." Twilight answered and turned around back to her post with her quill.

"Sorry you guys…I'll only be a minute though." He said to his friends and walked in, shutting the door behind him. "Hey Twilight…I just realized, I don't have a place to stay in Ponyville. Could you give me some suggestions?" He thought she'd be the go-to pony for this.

All she did was use her magic to lift a book over to Age. "Here, use this to pick out a temporary spot; we've got lots of choices. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an essay to write." And she kept writing.

Age turned the pages in the book looking at all the possible residents he could choose from, and Rainbow Dash walked over to him as he turned the pages with his hoof. "Sorry about her Age, she's just really caught up in her school work." Age looked to her and smiled.

"I noticed…what's she doing anyway?"

"She's writing an essay on some Prince who lived long ago…I think his name was Prince Amethyst something…I don't entirely remember." Age got intrigued by the notion.

"Maybe I could help her out…after all…I am very well read." He said and smiled, feeling proud of his vast knowledge. But Twilight cut in from across the room.

"I doubt it…I'm writing a report on Prince Amethyst GeoEron. I've checked all my books, and I've only found one little excerpt about this Prince." She said and directed her next sentence to Rainbow Dash. "Hey Rainbow Dash, would you mind showing Age the passage in that book?" And she pointed to a book on the center desk in the room.

"Got it…" And Rainbow flew over to the book and snatched it up in her hooves and flew back over to Age who put the other book down. Rainbow turned to the page and Age read the small summary.

"Hmm…interesting…hey…" He said and a realization came over him. "I've heard of this guy!" Twilight's quill dropped straight out of her magical grasp and she turned around and walked over to him with kooky eyes.

"You've…you've…heard of…him?" She said slowly and painfully, like her nervous system was about to break down.

"Yes…" Age said nervously, drawing back form the strange looking Twilight. "I know that he wasn't a Prince of Equestria. He was a Prince for some other land, and he was very multi-talented. He lived in a castle with his parents until he was a stallion and then vanished with his best friend. He snuck out using his magic skills to slip by the guards, and he also used his magic to hide his Cutie Mark once he got it. Apparently he thought it was dumb and that it was a wrong mark, so he sought to hide it. I also know that he was best friends with Luna, the Princess who lives up in Canterlot, but if you ask me, the two always sound like they were more than friends. And he single-hoofedly created the Dragon Reserve for migrating dragons." Twilight was about ready to fall apart. "But…that's all I know." And Twilight gave out and collapsed, dazed, stunned, and humiliated. Age put the book down and slowly moved out of the home, towards the door, with Rainbow Dash walking with him.

"Sorry about that Age." Rainbow said.

"It's fine…I've seen weirder. Where I come from, every day is a party."

"Where do you come from? Your mane and tail are odd colors for a stallion." This fact interested Rainbow as well as Twilight; Rainbow figured if she was nice about it, he'd tell her.

"I've been told that before. Ponies have questioned my appearance since I was born. I don't know how, but I've always been this way…look at me…" He said and repositioned himself standing horizontally so Rainbow only saw him from the side. Yep, it was just like Twilight said, purple mane and tail, with darker streaks of the same color in them. The tip of his mane at the top spun off into a small curl, which Rainbow thought was pretty cool looking. He had the fur on his legs pulled up a little, so you could see his hooves, which were gray. His eyes were the same color as the streaks he possessed, a dark purple. And as always, Rainbow Dash was intrigued the most by his wings, tightly compacted against his sides, clearly wedged in very well; it'd take a lot to get them to open back up. Age then looked at Rainbow and returned to his former stance. "And I can't remember where I'm from. I've been traveling most of my life, all I remember is waking up every morning and loving what I saw. Fun townsponies, friendly neighbors, and the greatest friends one could ask for!" He said and turned back and opened the door once more, and of course, Gregory and Tine were still standing there. "But the one thing that was bad about it was…well…" He looked like he didn't want to say it, "Let's just say, living there is the reason I don't show anyone my wings." And he walked out and into the grass, treading towards the town square, but called back to Rainbow. "Always nice to see you Rainbow Dash…! I hope I helped out Twilight!" And like that, he was walking off yet again.

Rainbow didn't know what to say, she finally had a clue. She turned to Twilight who was picking up her pride as a straight 'A' student and shook her head. "Sorry about that Rainbow, say sorry to Age for me. On the bright side, he gave me excellent information, none of that was in the book." And then she looked around and saw the room that led down stairs, "You know, we do have a spare room here, maybe he could stay here for a while. Would you mind telling him that for me?" Twilight said and returned to her essay.

"Sure thing Twilight…!" And she sped out the door, flying quickly to catch up to him. _Maybe if I get him to open his wings up here, he'll see they're not so bad. After all, the ponies in Ponyville are the nicest you'll find anywhere, I'm sure they'll accept them, no matter how they are. _Satisfied with her plan, she continued in search of her new friend.

**I swear these chapters are getting longer and longer each time. Oh well, who said that's a bad thing? I hope you're starting to like Age, I think he's had enough introduction time, after this there'll be no more back story stuff on him. He feels like an established character by this point. Also, I once again hope I answered all questions and concerns, thank you for your time today! **


	5. Bound Backwards

**I love Princess Luna, and I really think she should have more of a foreground part in the story of Friendship is Magic instead of her occasional on screen appearances So that's one of the big this that this story focuses on, giving Luna a story revolving around her and her past, possibly even giving her a second chance at finding true happiness with her very special somepony. And just fair warning, I'm not good at coming up with clever pony/horse pun names of all the location here in this world, but remember when Age said Amethyst wasn't from Equestria? I have no questions to answer this time around. **

I'll Show You the Sky

Chapter 5

Bound Backwards

Rainbow Dash flew through the sky, she liked flying way up high in the clouds, she always did it even for no particular reason, to go and catch the blue pegasus pony heading into town to tell him he could stay at the library while he was in Ponyville. Rainbow had started thinking about Age, and the way he acted, and all the different features about him after the good look she just had when he showed himself from the side a few minutes earlier, and she was beginning to think that his color was an excellent combo, one that made him…dare she say it, awesome! It looked really cool on him she thought, and did something that Rainbow Dash just loved, standing out! Not only did he have a great eye-catching ability, his inner self was a complete gem as well. He was nice as could be with the most generous, loyal, kind, happy-go-lucky, trustworthy, and friendly personality of any stallion she'd ever met.

_It's like he's got the qualities of all of us put together. _Thought Rainbow Dash, _I'm sure the Princesses would love to meet someone like him. _She, of all the Mane Six, had formed a bond with Age no other of the ponies had, and it made her feel really good that she had another good, true friend to count on. Rainbow Dash wasn't a pony for emotional words, but she felt like Age was really something else, and she couldn't wait to see him again. The rainbow mane pony flew swiftly through Ponyville's alleys and walk ways, but there wasn't any sighting of Age until she reached the main market plaza were all the ponies had set up their individual stands, selling their own little knick knacks. He was walking down the side eyeing every stand he went past, admiring every one of the antiques he saw, even the food was interesting to him. She saw Gregory and Tine walking with him, but after a small chat he had with them that she could see, the two went off on their own. She guessed he wanted them to let him be for a while. Rainbow flew down and landed next to the now alone Age's side, and he heard her zoom to him, and he turned his head to greet her without a second thought.

"Hey Rainbow Dash…! Back again I see! I can see why you're the element of loyalty!" He said and kept on walking and Rainbow trotting next to him.

"You know about that too?" Rainbow said, a little jealous, but not enough to ruin her joyful and happy mood to see him, and she didn't care about his knowledge of the incident with Nightmare Moon.

"Of course…! Every pony in Equestria knows about that! If I'm going to stay here, I'm going to have to stay up to speed on current events." He said with his face turned back to her, and then faced front again to see where he was going, but kept talking about what he knew. "Like I heard you and the other's beat Discord in a fight using your elements to the max! Which I think is awesome!"

_He said awesome…that's awesome!_ Thought Rainbow Dash as she listened,

"I also heard that you guys took down the Changeling Queen. Mighty impressive if I do say so myself…!" Age gave a half hoof salute, to which she drank right in.

"Aw shucks…it was nothing…" Still being who she was, but everyone liked her anyway.

Suddenly, they stopped next to each other and both looked directly ahead and saw Pinkie Pie hopping around from stand to stand, clearly doing some shopping like they were. Once Pinkie noticed them, she hopped over to them and began acting like she always did. "Oh hey you guys…! I was wondering when I'd see you again. So listen Age, I was thinking of throwing you a welcome to Ponyville Party, but I started thinking that maybe it's too soon to throw one because I have to take care of the Cake babies later and I…" She thought about what she just said, "Who am I kidding?! It's never too early for a party! I'll just invite the twins, and even the Cakes too so they don't feel like they're getting left out!" And she stopped and grinned wildly at Age and Rainbow Dash, but Age expected this from Pinkie, and wasn't crept out like when Twilight had done it.

"That's extremely nice off you Pinkie, I look forward to…" He started, but his attention was diverted from Pinkie and found himself staring at an older pony who was looking sad behind his stand. This made Age's ears fall back, and he looked to Pinkie again. "Who's that pony Pinkie?" He said and pointed to the stallion.

"Oh…that's Mr. Hanks, he never usually make a good sale off of his stuff." Pinkie told him, and this gave the pegasus an idea.

"Allow me then…" And Age trotted over to the stand and knocked on the counter, Mr. Hanks looked up, but his mood didn't improve.

"Browsing are we…?" He said very drearily.

"Are these family antiques?" Age asked kindly as Pinkie and Rainbow came up by his one side.

"Yes…" Said Mr. Hanks, "I've been trying to sell them for years for a little extra money; we never use them anymore anyway. I personally don't want to sell them, but money is required to keep a family going." The old pony returned to his slightly depressed state, and before Pinkie worked her smiling magic, Age put ten bits on the table. Mr. Hanks shot up and got very wide eyes at this, "Wow…that's a lot kiddo…but…what are you buying?" But Age smiled with such generosity and said,

"Nothing…" And he walked away with his face still locked in a smile. His wonderful act of selflessness earned recognition from Pinkie, and she put down ten bits as well.

"Here Mr. Hanks, it's my earnings from baby-sitting this week. I think you need it more than I do…" And Pinkie Pie hopped off after Age. Rainbow was touched, and she never was, but this was just something she only saw out of Rarity, and to her it wouldn't go unnoticed.

"I don't have much to give…" Rainbow explained, "But I still can give you this…" And she put down three bits, "I found it at home under my bed, I have no use for it anyway." And she took off after her other two friends as well. Mr. Hanks was ready to cry with joy.

As the three walked off, everyone satisfied with themselves, Pinkie Pie suddenly remembered something out loud. "Oh my gosh…!" She said with a gasp, "I was supposed to meet Rarity at Carousel Boutique; she needs me to be her fitting model! Sorry you guys, but I gotta Pinkie on outta here!" And she sped off impractically fast. She left a trail of dust as she ran off, making the two pegasi cough.

"That's Pinkie Pie alright…" Rainbow Dash admitted after she caught her breath.

"Carousel Boutique…? I haven't been there yet. You think we could stop by?" Age asked, Rainbow thought about it for a moment, and figured why not.

"Sure, besides, Rarity has only met you once before. You two are very generous, you'll surely get along." Rainbow told him about Rarity and all her designs along the way, he was astonished that she wasn't famous outside of Ponyville yet. With important ponies coming and admiring her fashions such as Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, and Sapphire Shores, it was a mystery to him as to how she wasn't a celebrity herself living in Canterlot with hundreds of ponies wishing they were her. And the way she described their Gala dresses to him, he wished he was there to see them in person.

Once they arrived they knocked on the front door, but no one answered. Rainbow knocked on the door again, but this time the door was opened by Sweetie Belle. "Oh hey Rainbow Dash…" The little filly said, "I assume you're here to see Rarity. She's upstairs with Pinkie, but she's not exactly in the liveliest mood today. You and your friend should be weary." Rainbow nodded and the two pegasi walked past her.

"Thanks squirt…" Rainbow said as she walked away.

As the two headed upstairs, they heard no noise, which for Rarity was a bad thing. When they got closer to the door, they heard groaning and was smelled like sweat. Age knocked on the door this time, and they both heard a yell form inside, "NOT NOW…! I'll get to you later!" To which Age and Rainbow Dash glanced at each other.

"Rarity, it's us…!" They heard a clip-clop, and the door knob turned and opened. Rarity saw them, and she looked rather relieved.

"Oh Rainbow Dash, and Age too…! I'm thrilled to see you both, come in…" She said and escorted them in. Pinkie Pie was standing up on a small platform, trying on what looked to be a new dress, Age and Rainbow thought it looked awesome, but Rarity interrupted their thoughts for her own. "This dress is just awful, I'll never find the right color scheme! I've tried everything! Warm against cool, cool against warm, contrasting, non-contrasting, and nothing is fitting the design!" No one wanted to say it, but Rarity was acting like a drama queen again. Age took a mental scan of the dress' lay-out and then looked at himself. He then smiled yet again.

"Um…Rarity…?" And everyone in the room looked to him, not just Rarity. "Why don't you copy my color scheme? I mean, I am a stallion, but the way this purple and dark blue looks on me is very unique. I'm sure if you used it on a dress it would look just as majestic. After all, if you look at me as a whole, my colors go together, but at the same time, they don't." Rarity frowned and tilted her head trying to imagine his suggestion. She then waked over to her desk and colored in a picture of the dress lay-out using his colors, and her eyes shined at the results.

"Why it's simply FABULOUS!" And everyone smiled. "I've never seen this sort of, 'Battle of the Colors' on a dress before. Whoever should where this will be beyond fabulous!" And she started using her magic to cut out dress pieces with her scissors and began using a mannequin as a model, no longer needing Pinkie's help. "Thank you so much Age, you really know a thing or two about fashion! Would you mind helping me out tomorrow with an order I have?" But Age gave a guilty grin.

"Sorry Rarity, I already promised Fluttershy I'd help her out with the animals tomorrow, but I'll be free later in the day."

"That's fine, come by whenever. Now all three of you stay, I want you to be the first to see this new dress!" So she worked vigorously as the three ponies waked downstairs to wait for her work to be complete.

"Wow Age, that was impressive. But I do have a question for you…" Rainbow asked him. "Back at Mr. Hanks', where you get those ten bits…? That's not exactly a small amount of money."

"When we walked around Ponyville, a lot of townsponies gave me some starting money to help me on my way here. But I felt like they gave me more than I needed, plus Fluttershy paid me in advance for helping her out tomorrow, she gave me three bits."

Time went by, the three ponies talked and talked, the light outside was beginning to turn orange. As of right then, just sitting and talking with friends, all three of the ponies had had a day worth remembering. Rarity came down shortly after the day made the transition from day to afternoon, and she used her magic to carry the dress down. It was astonishing, the streaks of dark purple flowing down the back like Age's mane, and the torso cut being a crisp night sky blue, coupled with dashing gray shoes, and violet shaded hair and neck piece, it was one of Rarity's best.

The conversation about the dress was cut short by a loud clap of thunder, and the dark swirling of black clouds. The four ran outside and saw the event, but everyone except Age smiled, as they knew who was on their way. The clouds circled into a funnel, and through the funnel Canterlot could be seen, and from the city came the image of a carriage, a carriage with four wheels, dark blur outlining, gargoyle like wings coming from the back and a massive eye in the front. This intimidating mode of transportation was pulled by two pegasi, but not the normal pegasus. These two had dark gray coats, and wings like that of a bat, their tails ended in points. Also their eyes had thin pupils, whoever this pony was, they weren't messing around.

Everyone in town ran to where the carriage had set down, and everyone watched a hooded figure set out of the ride. Age felt this strange pulling feeling in his chest, but ignored it as Twilight ran up behind them. "Just in time…" She said and all five turned to watch the hooded pony unveil. It was Luna, Princess Luna. She directed her attention towards Twilight and walked over to her without removing her cape. As she passed her guards, she put them to ease.

"Nightwing Shade, Moonrice…rest for a while."

"Yes, your highness…" And the two, seemingly threatening ponies, eased up and acted like regular ponies, despite their fearsome appearance. Age was in awe.

"Twilight Sparkle…" Luna said as she walked up to the five friends, and Twilight bowed her head showing respect. And turned to Pinkie, "Pinkamena Diane Pie…" And Pinkie smiled, "Rarity…" And Rarity flicked her mane. "And Rainbow Dash…" Rainbow nodded her head. Luna then noticed Age, and she squinted. Her eye-brow raised up and she gave him a keen look. "I have never seen you here before. But you look oddly familiar." Age stepped up closer to her too, and the pulling feeling got stronger.

"I recognized you too your highness, but I can't remember from where…" Luna tore away from looking at him and directed her attention to Twilight.

"Twilight Sparkle, what I mean to tell you earlier is that you and your friends are quarterly invited to tomorrow night's Garden Party in Canterlot to discuss plans for this year's Galloping Gala. I've made sure to make room for all six of you." And Twilight bowed her head to the Princess.

"Thank you very much Luna, I accept the offer. But…" And Luna got stunned, but waited for what Twilight was about to say. "I really need thank you for your information on Prince Amethyst. I got my essay done and sent it in. Had it not been for you and Age here, I probably wouldn't have had enough information." This statement threw Luna off and looked back to Age.

"You know of Prince Amethyst GeoEron? How could that be?" Luna asked him, hoping he knew something she didn't about him.

"I heard of him a long time ago, but my knowledge is limited Princess. I could tell you what I know if it would please you?" He offered, but Luna got too excited to stay calm.

"But of course fair Age, one who knows of Prince Amethyst is of utmost importance to me. As I'm sure you know, he was my dearest friend. I shall make room for you at the Garden Party, as I cannot stay here for long. It is there we'll discuss our knowledge." Luna wasn't offering, it was a calm, nice, yet eager demand.

"I'd be honored to join you for a conversation about the Prince Princess, I look forward to it." Age bowed his head and showed his respects.

"As do I…fair well my little ponies…" And she walked back over to her carriage with her cape still on and pulled away, flying back up towards Canterlot. Everypony in town went back to their business, but the five ponies talked amongst themselves.

"OH…we get to attend another Garden Party!" Rarity squealed. Twilight giggled.

"I know, hopefully it'll be better than the last one we went to." And she turned to Age, but he was looking down at the ground with a frown. "Something wrong Age?" And he turned to her,

"No…nothing at all…" And he trotted off, not seeming like he was going anywhere in particular.

"I'll talk to him…" Rainbow said and ran after him. "Hey Age…" She spoke as she caught up with him, "What's up? You've been acting strange since Luna was just here."

"There's something about her Rainbow Dash…something oddly familiar. But I've never seen her before in my life, and I remember my life pretty well, except for where I'm from and all. When I saw her, and when we talked, there was just this…grip I felt in my chest. I don't know what it was…" Rainbow Dash didn't know what to tell him.

"Well…I guess we'll just have to find out tomorrow…" She said, trying to be comforting.

"Yeah, I guess we will…" Age sighed, and the two look up at Canterlot.

**Longest chapter that has been in this story yet; I've got to stop putting in so much! So that's the chapter that is setting this story back on course, the last two were just introductions for Age and his relationships with everypony, especially Rainbow Dash. So a Garden Party is imminent, and Luna has finally come back. Don't worry; you'll see a lot more of her in the future after…certain words are exchanged…and said actions are undergone. **


	6. Congregation of Iridescence: Part 1

**Good news everyone! I made myself a account so I could post pictures of Age and all of my other OCs. I have up right now a picture of Age in his Garden Party outfit and a picture of Age when he's dressed normally, which I guess would be nothing. So we've established many things about Age, and the biggest thing we've seen so far is that he's forming a bond with Rainbow Dash that no other ponies seem to have. How will this affect the Garden Party? And who knew Age could design clothes and see them in his head?**

I'll Show You the Sky

Chapter 6

Congregation of Iridescence

Part 1

The sun was about at its halfway point in the sky, signaling it was noon. Yesterday, Princess Luna herself had invited the Mane Six to the Garden Party Social in Canterlot to discuss plans for the Grand Galloping Gala this year. It was shortly after Luna had a brief conversation with Age about Prince Amethyst GeoEron, which ultimately led to Luna personal assuring his presence at the Social as well. The Social was scheduled for that night, and it made Fluttershy work with Age extra hard to keep all her animals in check before they were off to Carousel Boutique for their dresses, and for Age, his outfit. As Fluttershy felt some sweat dripping off her forehead from managing her animals so thoroughly, she turned to Age and saw him nuzzle a little baby squirrel with his snout up a tree and into its mother's arms. Fluttershy smiled, and walked over to Age.

"Well, that's the last of them. Looks like we got finished early today, I never expected that to happen." As she looked at her friend when he turned around, he looked just as tired as she was.

"Good…I didn't know how much more I could take. I love animals and everything, but this was a lot more to handle than I thought it would be."

"Well, I usually don't have to work so fast. But with that Garden Party coming up, I needed to work us both to the brink of quitting so we could get done in time. I'm sorry for pushing you though, I hope you're not mad at me…" Fluttershy peeped, folding back her ears.

"It's okay Fluttershy…" Began Age, "I had fun working with all these different animals…" And as he said that, Gregory came out of the house, and Tine flew in down from the sky; they intended to give their friend a full report on all the other animals. "Hey you two, what's the scoop?" Tine made some wing gestures, and Gregory barked and clapped with his flaps. Age then turned back to Fluttershy and gave her a wink. "Looks like everything is officially wrapped up here…! I trust these two can keep a close eye on things while we're at the Social." Fluttershy picked her ears back up and smiled. Angel Bunny hopped over to Fluttershy and patted her leg, to which she looked down and saw Angel getting teary.

"Oh Angel, you know I'd take you if I could, but this is Canterlot. I'm sure they wouldn't welcome a little friend like you there. Besides, you're needed here to help Gregory and Tine with managing around the cottage. Can you be a brave little bunny and do that for me?" Angel dropped his ears and wiped his nose, but crossed his arms and got tough like he always did and nodded his head. "Thank you Angel." Then out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash bolted in and flew in a circle around his two friends and their animals, it scared Fluttershy, making her hide behind Gregory.

After she was done flying in her circle, Rainbow Dash saw Fluttershy hiding, and landed near her. "Hey Fluttershy…it's just me. You know I like making an entrance." Fluttershy stopped shaking from behind the harp seal and came out.

"Oh Rainbow Dash, you scared me. I don't like to be scared, you know that." Fluttershy was forced to remind her pegasus friend.

"I know, sorry about that." Rainbow said, and then she turned to Age and tried to talk to both of the pegasi at the same time. "Are we ready for an awesome night in Canterlot?!" She was strangely enthusiastic about the Garden Party. Age was hyped to go to the capital of Equestria, but Fluttershy was only going because of her friends like usual.

"I'm excited…" Said the stallion among them,

"If you both are…" Started the shy one, "I am too…" And the three laughed and went off towards the dress shop to meet the others.

As the went off, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flying, and Age running beneath them, Gregory, Tine, and Angel had a small animal conversation between themselves. Tine made a few squawks, sounding concerned for the Party. Gregory shared her concern as he had also over heard what was going to happen there. Angel was informed of the plan as well, but unfortunately the friends were already gone, and Gregory and Tine swore they'd never tell Age's secret anyway.

Once at Carousel Boutique, Rainbow led the way in and they all charmingly walked upstairs to Rarity's personal work studio. It was then that Rainbow, with one friend on each side of her, knocked on the door to Rarity's room, and the unicorn opened the door and glistened.

"Oh Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Age…how lovely to see you all…! Will you please come in, I know how much you want to get prepared for the Social tonight in Canterlot." And Rarity led the three ponies in, to which they saw Twilight, Pinkie, and Applejack already inside getting spiffed up and beautified for the Garden. "Alright, I thought that since we were invited a little last minute, that we'd just wear our dresses from the Gala last year. I would typically frown upon such an act, but I have no time to make fabulous new dresses for all of us, including our new friend." She was talking about Age. "So, everyone get ready…" And Fluttershy and Rainbow proceeded to their mirror to let their friends assist them in looking as they did on the night of the Gala while having fun doing it. But Age was not sure what to do, he hadn't been to the Gala last year, and he had no fancy, frou frou outfit to put on like the girls did. "But you Age however…" And he looked to Rarity, "Though you may be a boy, you still need to look your best. So, since I've seen your talents in fashion, picking colors, and designs and all, I am allowing you free access to anything in this room in order to make yourself an outfit. Just don't use any red silk, and be sure to use a minimum of five gemstones. I have use for those later." And Rarity walked over to her friends and left Age to his own devices. Age was wondering why Rarity hadn't mentioned the fact that he was here to help her with her own fashion like they had agreed on yesterday, but disregarded it and went over to the drawing board.

Age never designed his own outfit before, and it took a lot of thinking. What colors should he use? How tight should it be around his waist and hooves? Will he need to use gems at all? The questions fueled his ideas, and soon the image of his outfit came to life. He drew, and colored, and soon, he started working with fabrics, trying to match the colors he had on the paper. It was tough to sew the pieces together without magic to assist him, but he got it done soon enough. The Mane Six had all gathered downstairs to give him privacy as he worked on his own original design, and when the outfit itself was done, Age couldn't help but wonder if he should fix up his mane and tail like the others had done. It was then he went back to the drawing board and experimented with different ways he could fix the problem, and it was getting to the point where everyone wondered what he was doing up there.

"Spike…!" Age called down the stairs. The Mane Six looked around and noticed that Spike was there with Twilight, as when Twilight went somewhere, Spike was expected to accompany her.

"Yeah Age…!" He called back up the stairs. He was yelling from where nopony could see him, all they heard was his voice.

"I have a favor to ask of you…come up here." And Spike ran up the stairs, and then came back down again a few minutes later with red gemstone crumbs lining his mouth.

"Spike, what did he have you do up there?" Twilight asked him as he licked his lips.

"He had me munch on this one red gem. He only let me eat the rim of it though. He kept the center after I ate it down to the core. I also think he used the bits and pieces that fell off of it while I was eating it. Sort strange, but I'm not complaining." Spike said and shrugged his shoulder.

More time passed, and soon they heard another knocking on the front door to the Boutique. All the girls and Spike were still waiting in the main room downstairs, and when they opened the door, they found Princess Luna waiting for them. "Are you all ready to go?" Luna asked in a normal voice.

"We're waiting for Age; he was designing his own outfit. But he's taking a little longer than we thought." Twilight explained to the Princess. But Rainbow Dash just jumped in, despite her being dressed up like everyone else.

"Wait…you're personally escorting us to the Garden Party?" Rainbow said, rather excited.

"But of course fair Rainbow Dash, if I wasn't there, I'm sure none of you would be allowed in." And with that, everyone, including the Princess waited on the downstairs floor for a few more minutes.

The sun was almost entirely set, meaning the Social was going to begin soon, and Age still hadn't come down yet. Everyone was getting hot in their dresses, except for the Princess who wasn't wearing anything formal. Soon enough, Rarity threw her hooves in the air and gave a loud groan. "What is taking him so long up there!? He does know the Social is tonight, right? Maybe we should just send someone for him when he's done." But Luna stepped in right then and stomped her hoof down.

"Of course not…! That pegasus contains valuable information about my dear friend the Prince. I shall not leave him behind." This made Rarity and Luna butt heads a little, literally, but an angel's voice calmed them all down.

"That…won't be necessary!" Everyone turned and saw Age in his own outfit, their jaws dropped. His dark blue coat had been contrasted against his mane and tail, and his overtop was a majestic royal purple that matched the color of his darker purple streaks. On his legs were stockings, made of the same cloth used to make his overtop, but they were lined with golden leg bands encrusted around the center with dark red gem stones. Around his neck was a bright a vibrant necklace, with a vividly showing ruby in the center. His mane had been put into golden laces that made his hair flow like it was being pushed by the wind, and his tail had been done up the same way, with his long tail all closed up into one sleek line. He also had added a single earring to his left ear, which was also golden along with his necklace. To everyone, they were absolutely astonished at his suit. Luna thought he looked like a true gentleman in his clothes, and Twilight thought he had made himself into a neferti cat, which was a compliment.

"Oh my goodness Age…" Said Rarity, "Your outfit is truly wonderful…! I'd be thrilled if you visited me at the Boutique to spend time and share ideas! Seeing you in that outfit makes me wonder how you'd look in an army suit, or maybe a suit of armor. Surely alluring…" Age was taken aback by Rarity compliment; she made it sound like she was now attracted to him. But before he said anything, Rainbow flew over top of him and hovered in air.

"Totally awesome Age…! I never thought I'd see the day purple looked good on a guy!" Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, even the Princess. It was actually Luna who spoke next.

"I must say…I can see why we waited for so long fair Age. This is quite an entrance for someone like you to make. I think you'll be a fine addition to this gathering." And Luna walked out of the shop towards her carriage, which was their form of transportation to the Garden Party.

Everyone walked outside and Luna used her magic to increase the size of her ride so everyone could climb on board. They all talked a little among themselves about various things, but most of the time they were giggling and admiring Age's suit behind his back. As Luna's guards flew the carriage up towards Canterlot while the Mane Six held on, Age was up near the front, looking down over the landscape as he flew. He was amazed at what he saw, he'd never knew it was so enthralling to fly high in the sky like this. Luna was sitting down where she always had, and she noticed her companion staring down. "Do you like what you see fair Age?" He turned to her and nodded his head.

"Very much Princess, I can't remember the last time I was in the sky like this. Boy I wish I could fly like Rainbow Dash…and Fluttershy…and pretty much every pegasus there is."

"What has stopped you?" Luna asked. Age looked to her and his eye lids fell a little.

"These wings…I can't fly with them. I hate them…" And Age looked away from Luna. A pegasus who couldn't fly was only considered half a pegasus. It was a burden Age hated having. Luna blinked and tilted her head, she'd heard that statement before.

"Age…come to my side…" She said in a friendly way and with a smile, even though they were almost to Canterlot. Age moved over to her side and listened. "It seems our conversation about Prince Amethyst begins now, for I recall him being the same way. He had these strange looking wings, even for a filly and a colt of his age. He was exactly like you too, shy about his wings, wishing he could fly like a normal pegasus. He was also like you in the sense that he hated his own wings, he wished he was born with normal wings."

"Normal wings…? What did he mean?" Age asked, the 'normal wings' part threw him off guard on the topic. Age knew why he hated his wings, but he couldn't bear to tell or show anypony. In his heart, he was hoping that the Prince had the same issue he did.

"I never found out. He never told me what the problem was…it's always been a mystery to me…" This made Age lose his eagerness to learn, but at least he and Luna had already begun to have a nice conversation about a familiar topic.

**This is clearly a 2 part arc, but I warn you, you may not like what you see in the second part of the arc. And I don't mean to troll, but in case you did want to see those drawing of Age and his Garden Party outfit, the user name is MyWayDrawer. Only if you want to, I'm not forcing anyone and I personally hate trolling. **


	7. Congregation of Iridescence: Part 2

**I have nothing to say, just read, and be prepared for a bigger doozy than the ones Pinkie can sense…**

I'll Show You the Sky

Chapter 7

Congregation of Iridescence

Part 2

The carriage arrived in Canterlot a few minutes later, and all of the ponies climbed off, which had set down right in front of the Canterlot Gardens. The pegasus guards saw Princess Luna with the ponies and allowed all of them to pass. Once inside, it was almost like a regular social event. Rarity went over to speak with Fancypants and catch up on events since the Royal Wedding. Applejack and Fluttershy enjoyed the fruits and treats served at the table, and Pinkie Pie just jumped around trying to liven up the place. Twilight and Rainbow were over in a corner for the first part of the party discussing some private matters.

"This doesn't feel right Twilight…" Rainbow said, "He's our friend, I was going to try and talk him into it anyway. There's no need for force."

"He is our friend Rainbow, but this is just a precaution. Go try and talk him into it first, if he's reluctant then we'll do it." Twilight had an idea that might get Age to tell them what was wrong with his wings, but the social hadn't begun quite yet and the preparation for the Gala hadn't started.

"Okay…fine…but just so you know…I'm not happy about this…" Rainbow was the element of Loyalty for a reason.

Rainbow Dash did her best to walk through the Garden like a lady, despite the tomboy she was, and trotted over to Age, Luna, and Celestia, who were all in one spot talking about the Prince. Rainbow saw and didn't want to interrupt, because she knew first impression were very important, and Age looked like he was getting along with the Celestial Sisters very well, so all she did was sit back for a few seconds and listen.

"I remember one time he tried to go swimming using just his front hooves…" Said Celestia, and the other two laughed.

"What about when thought he could climb a mountain while dragging a boulder behind him with a rope?" Said Luna, and they laughed again.

"I heard that he challenged the two of you to a race on foot, and I believe Celestia won. But I heard that was because he tripped over the starting line." Age said, and Celestia smiled.

"He probably said that to keep his image strong. Luna and I beat him in that race by a mile, no trips or anything. I guess we were just faster…" And another laughed escaped all of their mouths. Rainbow smiled at the enjoyment her friend was getting, and waited a little longer. "You know Age…" Celestia said after they finished laughing, and the pegasus looked to her in respect. "You remind me a lot of Amethyst. You have all the same characteristics as he does, nice, kind, generous, friendly, truthful, funny, and without a doubt you have a wonderful group of friends who will always be loyal to you, and you will be loyal to them too. It almost makes me feel like Amethyst is here with us…I know Luna misses him more than anypony…" Celestia said her last remark towards her sister who was standing next to her. Luna nodded her head and smiled, but got a little saddened.

"Yes, I do miss him with all my heart. What I wouldn't give to see him. But the reason is only known by one pony…" Luna said and directed her attention to Celestia.

"And I swore I'd never tell anypony…a promise I intend to keep my sister…" The Sun Princess told her Moon counterpart.

"Thank you very much Princesses…it's my honor to enjoy this conversation with the rulers of Equestria, and I've only been here for a day. To me, that's an extremely high honor…" Age said, showing his respects and formalities. Rainbow Dash thought this was a good chance to move, so she walked over.

"Hi guys…" And the three looked her way. "Hey Age, I need to ask you something…would the Princesses mind giving us a moment?" She asked kindly to the Sisters.

"Of course Rainbow Dash, take all the time you need." Celestia said respectfully and walked past the two younger pegasi with her sister. "Hey Age…about your wings…I wanted to say that…well…when you said that your old home is the reason you don't show them to anypony…it got me thinking…if Equestria is your home now, which I'm 20% sure it is, why don't you show everyone your wings? Especially with the Princesses here, you'll be accepted for sure." Age didn't want to hear anything about his wings, he hated them, but Rainbow Dash had made a good point. Equestria was unlike his own home, it was a much more peaceful place than he could remember. The thought was actually tempting in his mind, even though his memories of his old home were vague and blurry.

"I don't know Rainbow Dash…these things are…" And he looked back at them. "If I did…I have no idea what the reception would be, the results could catastrophic. I was already forced to leave one place because of these, I'm not doing it again."

"So you'd rather live in fear of yourself rather than be accepted like a true pegasus? I saw how you were on the carriage on the way here Age, you love to fly, you love being in the sky, if you open your wings you could do that every day, every second!"

The hesitant pony looked at Rainbow Dash, and back to his wings. "Well…" And he slowly began to try and lift them up, but it was so slow it looked like they weren't moving at all. Rainbow looked closely and saw what looked like feathers getting folded outwards, and they were massive, but Age coward out and pushed them right back up. "I can't do it Rainbow…I just can't…" And he trotted off further into the gathering. Unfortunately, that was the key for the plan, and Twilight saw the whole thing.

"Psst…Rainbow Dash…!" She called over, and Rainbow went over to her. "I figured he wouldn't do it. Are we ready for the backup plan?" Twilight asked Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash was frozen by the question. All she could do was look over at the sulking pegasus she called her friend and think about how much she would be betraying him if she did this. It was a horrible thought, one she couldn't stand, her element, Loyalty, wasn't under question, but she was certainly feeling as if it was taken away. Rainbow saw Age look back at his wings, and he moved them very slightly in a flapping motion, and he smiled, but it only lasted a second, and he went back to his melancholia. This brought a small, single tear to Rainbow's eye…she couldn't do it.

"No…" Twilight was struck with a lightning bolt of surprise and electrifying confusion. Did Rainbow Dash just say 'no'?

"No…? What do you mean no? Rainbow Dash…" But the pegasus cut her off.

"I'm not betraying a friend's trust like that Twilight. I tried talking, but it didn't work. That's enough for me, he'll show us when he's good and ready. Forcing him like this…it would just go against your element, as well as mine. Does the possibility of humiliating a friend really count as Magic, or especially as showing Loyalty?" She had a point, their plan went against everything their elements represented, and after Rainbow Dash pointed it out, she couldn't find it to bring herself to do it either.

"No, it doesn't…you're right Rainbow Dash. What was I thinking…what were we thinking?"

"I don't know, but whatever it was, I'm glad we won't do it. Now, I have to go talk to Age about…"

Rainbow had started to walk over to their 'victim', but the wind had suddenly picked up. It was growing faster and faster, and it was blowing everything around. The food on the table flew away, as did the table itself, and all the dresses blew up into the girls faces. The wind was blowing so hard the Princesses were having a hard time staying on the ground; Twilight especially saw how Luna was having trouble, gritting her teeth and holding her head down, trying to stay on her hooves and not fly away. Most ponies ran for cover, but some were stuck in position by the wind, forcing them to hold their ground and not move, as the smallest step would cause them to blow away. Princess Celestia called the girls over to her and Luna, and the Mane Six all ran to her, as they did, Luna stopped struggling and looked to them all too.

"Is everyone okay…?!" Luna hollered over the screeching winds blowing around them. Everyone was there, Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie, but one in particular pony was still left out.

"We're fine…" Rainbow tried yelling, but everyone could barely hear her, "But where's this wind coming from?! It feels like the winds of a tornado!" Rainbow would know that, after all, when it came to wind, no pony knew it like her.

"I don't know…" Princess Celestia tried entering the conversation. "But I do know that someone is missing…" And everyone looked around, and they turned to see Age with his head tucked against his side, and down, clearly trying to keep the wind from blowing his wings open.

"AGE…!" Luna's cry echoed through his mind, and through all the wind and noise, he somehow heard it. He looked up, but that was his final mistake. The moving of his head caused him to be blown back and now he was holding onto the ground, making scrap marks in the garden grass, rooting them and making brown, dirt filled lines in the soil. His eyes were forced closed, as the wind hammering against his eyelids felt like they were being beaten with shards of glass, he made the open, just slightly, and saw his friends and the Princesses. He saw Rainbow Dash, and she saw him looking at her, the wind blew even harder in the moment, and Age felt himself being pulled towards the side of the garden, and towards a very long fall. The garden's ledge ended with a plummeting drop to the ground, as half of Canterlot Castle was hanging over the side of the mountain. The hurricane like blasts were too much, and all Age felt were his wings being pulled back…opening.

"No…" Age whispered, he tried closing his wings back, but the air rushing through his feathers was pulling them in the opposite direction too hard. His muscles pulling them back felt like they tore and gave in, causing his ability to hold them back to fade. One final powerful blast shot him backwards, causing his wings to flap back and fly open, and a large clap was heard as his wings revealed themselves, letting themselves lock into place. They now saw why he was hiding them, for his wings, even for a stallion of his size, were absolutely massive. The wind let up as soon as his wings blew back and opened, causing him to topple over on his side with one wing under him, and the other overtop. With wings of that size being bent like that, they were surprised they didn't hear one break while twisting that way. With no more wind, and everyone staring at his monster sized tools of flight, all the pegasus could do was stand up. He turned towards his friends, but the look on his face was that of anger, terror, and shame. "IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED TO SEE!?" He wailed to them, all of them not moving at all. "THESE THINGS RUINED MY LIFE BACK HOME! I HATE THESE THINGS, MY WINGS ARE UNBAREABLE, LOOK AT THEM!" And he spread his wings out, so everyone could see their full size. Total, the wings could've been as long as three ponies side by side, long ways, not straight ways. Still, no one could move, the shock was too much. Rainbow Dash had many theories about his condition, but this was never one of them. "You happy now…?" He returned to a normal voice, but was still furious, not at his friends, but at himself. "Now you know my secret. This is why I hide, this is why I live in the Everfree Forest. My wings are huge, unnaturally large, they're…they're part of me." And he turned around to leave, but not towards the doorway, over the ledge to the garden. He readied himself to take his first flap to begin his flight in a long time, but stopped and turned around and directed his attention towards Luna. "There's something else you should know about the Prince. He cared about you Luna, whenever he was asked who he loved and cared for the most, it was always you. Not his parents, not his teacher or best friends, you…" Luna was forming tears, the reality of his words soaked in like a sponge. "I found that out a long time ago Princess, but it's too late for you…he's gone." And Age shot into the ghastly sky like a bullet. His wings propelled him across the open skies, like a sword cutting through paper, and in an instant, he was gone, flying completely out of sight with no trace of his presence.

Luna was stunned to find out about this information, her friend, the one pony that cared about her more than anyone else, was gone. All her searching, all the facts, it was all for nothing. Luna flew off crying, she didn't know where to. Princess Celestia and the girls, along with all other ponies who had seen everything just tried to recover from what had just happened to them. It all made sense now, and yet, old questions turned into new ones, questions no one could really answer.

"I'll talk to Luna…" Celestia said, without any emotion, how could she have any at this moment. "I suggest you try and speak with Age as well…" And Celestia walked away, shuttering once, and walking with a quake in her step.

No one in the Mane Six could move, not even Rainbow Dash. His wings, the gift all pegasus possess, were the instruments of his humiliation. And nothing, no one, could ever look past that, they were scars, burdens of failure and imperfection. The thought made Rainbow Dash feel like her friend was doomed, doomed to a life of misery from mocking and bullying because of his surprise. Nothing was the same for Rainbow Dash, Luna, or any of the friends that night afterwards, and no one spoke for days about the event, for it had all been far too much to take in at once.

**That's the big secret, his wings are monsters in size. I know it doesn't sound like much, but you'll see soon enough…**


	8. Hidden

**Think of this update as a New Year's gift from me to all of you! And, now that I think about it, you could think of it as a real life simulation of how long and dreary time has been since the incident at the garden party. After all, a number of weeks have gone by since then.**

**Q1. garebare65-That was awesome! Keep up the good work bro! :)**

**A1. In that case, I'm so sorry for disappointing you. I really hope this chapter is a good enough make up for it.**

**Q2.** **About Age, I was expecting exactly...the opposite. :/ I thought he had tiny wings...or even feather-less. Well, you surprise me in that one. **

**A2. Glad to hear it, I figure it was something people wouldn't have guessed. **

I'll Show You the Sky

Chapter 8

Hidden

An owl hooted in the still night as a chilling, yet also bitter wind drift through the dark, dense forest that had acted like a prison to the pegasus hiding himself from the world inside of it. He slept in a cave he found, it was small, but it was big enough for him, and maybe another pony if the fit was desperate. The wind traveled into the small residence and wove through his feathers and coat, making him shiver in his sleep. His eyes were closed, but he didn't see nothing, in his mind he saw what appeared to be an approaching figure, the land was white, and around him he saw ponies weeping. His head spun around to see his whole setting, there were houses, banners, ponies of every kind, some of which he hadn't even seen before. There was more than just ponies, there were also dragon, specifically a dark red one that Age recognized, but he still didn't know why. All the ponies he saw were heading towards one direction, and he felt their presences pass through him like he was a stale, lonely ghost. After that, he turned all the way around only to find Luna, the Princess of the Night. She looked right at him with mournful eyes, and the look stabbed him in the heart and penetrated his soul. "Why did you run away Age…? They cared about you…we cared about…" And the Mane Six, Spike, Gregory, Tine, and Princess Celestia all appeared by Luna's side, but the all began to fade into nothing.

"No…NO…I'm sorry…! Forgive me…!" He screamed, but they had already vanished.

He shot up from his nightmare, his terrible dream. He looked around, but he saw he was still in a cave, the dream wasn't real, and he'd been hiding for too long. Age crossed his hooves in front of him and frowned upon himself, his dream was telling him something. He shouldn't have run away after he got exposed, all he did was show his inner coward by not facing his fears and standing up for himself. All this time living out in the Everfree Forest so as to hide himself from the world had trashed him, like the world had chewed him up in a grinder and threw him into a furnace. His mane was a lot short now, it had been torn on branches, and he let most of it get ruffled and fall out. His long an elegant tail was torn on the end, and it now only came up to top portion of his leg, no longer did it nearly touch the ground as he held it high behind him. His wings had also been exposed after so long, and now that they were, it would take even longer to fold them and tuck them back to the way they were to make them look normal again, so instead he let them stay against his side at full length, which extended back to his tail.

The night wasn't over yet, he had nothing to do but think, and only one thought stuck out in his head, but by saying it out loud, he only made it stronger. "That's enough…" He said as he picked his trashed self up, he'd been ruined, he was a mess. "I'm going back to Ponyville, this ends now…"

The next day, around noon, Rainbow Dash was walking through the market. She was looking to buy some food for herself, but instead she only saw Applejack at her apple stand. The six friends also had no contact since the event, and since no one knew about it but them and everyone at the party, it was more like an inside problem. Rainbow sighed, and she headed over to the apple stand. Applejack turned to her and a surprised looked formed on her face, but she exhaled and walked over to Rainbow Dash.

"Tell me…are we still friends?" Rainbow Dash asked the earth pony. Applejack smiled.

"Of course we are sugar cube. And I know that…well…we probably shouldn't talk about it, but I know you are probably feeling worst then a pig with swine flu to think about Age. He was more so your friend than any of ours. After all, none of us have talked to each other for weeks, it's ridiculous! I haven't heard anything from Twilight, Pinkie Pie hasn't thrown any parties, you've been faster than ever on cloud duty recently, Rarity doesn't have any new designs, conversation has been a minimal for me, and Fluttershy has been seen at all. It's like this event triggered something in us, but why it is effecting us so much, I just can't figure out."

After Applejack's monologue, Rainbow smiled. "Well, at least we're all still friends, so that means we can all figure it out together." The earth pony smiled at her pegasus friend, and the two hugged.

"Shoot Rainbow Dash, you're making me all teary inside."

"What are friends for?" She said and started walking off feeling rejuvenated about everything, but now, she had to wait for Age to come back, as anypony knew going into the Everfree Forest was dangerous on your own, even if Rainbow had done it a few times before.

That night, under the cover of darkness, Age slunk out of the black forest and tip toed his way toward Ponyville. He was sure that if he could go anywhere, it'd be the library; after all, he knew Twilight was always studying and doing something academic well into the night. He walked down the road and saw Ponyville ahead, and then he ran to the side and approached the town from the back so he could get to the library without going down Manestreet. He ran behind a house as he heard a door close, probably some late night workers, and then he saw the tree library in the small clearing. He drew his breath, and with no time to spare, he ran up to the door and knocked on it with one hoof. It seemed okay, but on the inside and out, he was exhausted. He'd been walking from the forest to Twilight's home from late last night to this one, almost a full twenty-four hours, and that was with no food, no breaks, nothing. His head fell, and he panted, and then a small crack of light appeared through his vision. He looked through his hazy vision to see a unicorn with wide eyes staring at him, but all he could manage was, "Twilight…" And he collapsed, then it was all black.

"Spike…!" Twilight inside to her assistant, but all she herd was snoring, Spike wasn't going to get up. Realizing this, Twilight rushed outside and put Age's fore limb over her shoulder and dragged him inside and shut the door. Had it not been for his unique coloration, she probably wouldn't have recognized him. As said before, his mane had been ripped and was much shorter, his tail was a third of how long it was before, and his wings were bulging from his sides, clearly still at full length. Twilight used her magic to pick his head up gently and place a pillow under it. There wasn't much she could do for him at the moment, it'd have to wait until morning, but on the inside, she was relieved beyond belief to see that he was safe, mildly anyway.

Twilight informed every one of her friends when the sun just barely broke the skyline, and in an instant they rushed over, not believing he had come back to them. It was an easing thought for everypony, but they were very nervous for him too. Twilight gathered them all inside the library's main room and before opening the door where the lab used to be, which was now the room she'd brought Age into for recovery, she gave them all a briefing, and Rainbow Dash was particular to pay attention. "Alright everypony, this may come as a surprise to you, since I know we haven't spoken to each other since the Garden party, believe me, I'm still trying to take it all in, but now Age is back. But he's fatigued, and he's absolutely tarnished. So, when you see him, I want everypony to be as considerate and gentle as possible. He fainted shortly after arriving at my door last night, and he's still resting, so please, keep quiet, especially you Pinkie." She directed towards her pink friend, and the party thrower nodded slowly.

With that satisfaction, Twilight slowly pushed the door open with her hoof and crept inside with her friends. The joy of them all seeing each other after such an enthralling event was mesmerizing, but their affections would have to wait until Age was assured a recovery, for he was in worse condition than when Rainbow Dash broke her wing; they all walked down the stairs to a small cluster of pillows that Age rested on, his chest slowly rising and fall, but his heart beat was faint. They all gathered around him, and what Twilight told them was correct, he looked bad, very bad. There was dust and grim all over him, and he had a number of cuts and bruises that had gone unseen the night before due to the lack of light, but of everypony, Rarity was the first to say something.

"My word…he really does look absolutely horrid. I wish we could help more than just pay him a visit. He looks like he could be out for days…" Everypony shared Rarity concern and feeling of helplessness. Twilight thought for a moment, and then she had an idea.

"Maybe you all can do something to help him out." She said to the five, and Applejack sprung right up to the plate.

"Anything Twilight…" The cow-pony said with glee, glad she could help out their friend. It was then that Twilight thought up a clever method to use all their talents to her, and Age's advantage, and this was going to be something.

"Alright girls…" And she looked at Rarity first. "Rarity, go back to the shop and use the softest silk you have to make him a pillow and a blanket." Rarity nodded.

"Under any other circumstance…I wouldn't dare waste such a fabulous material on something so petit, but this is an emergency." And she finished and ran up the stairs back towards the Boutique.

Twilight smiled and shook her head in delight; her friend was the element of Generosity alright. After that, Twilight turned to Applejack. "Applejack, I need you to go back to Sweet Apple Acres and make the best comfort-food you can. Make sure everything is warm and creamy."

Applejack nodded, "Yes ma'am…!" And she disappeared as well back to her house to doing some apple cooking.

"Fluttershy…" Twilight said to the animal expert of the group, "Do you have any animals that know a thing or two about comfort and care?" The shy pegasus suddenly wasn't so shy.

"Oh yes Twilight, my squirrels and bunnies are experts on snuggling and fuzziness."

"Good, bring a few back here for ease…" And like that, Fluttershy was flying away and gone as well. Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Yes, they were talented, but their skills weren't suited to this situation. "Uh…look you guys, I don't know if you have the right talents to help out on this one." But Pinkie protested right away.

"Duh…! Well of course I do silly…! Watch…!" And she pulled out a flute from out of nowhere and played it slowly, giving the room a gentle, orient hum anypony could fall asleep to.

"Oh, I stand corrected then…and you Rainbow Dash?" She asked the athlete of the friends. Rainbow didn't think her speed and agility could solve this problem, so she offered the only thing she could do.

"Well…I guess I'll have to stay by his side in case he wakes up. Not like I can do much else with everypony else gone." This was a softer side of Rainbow Dash that Twilight hadn't seen before, and she thought it was an interesting side of her.

"That's very…loyal…of you Rainbow Dash." And she smiled at her friend, and the pegasus smiled back. "I'll be up in the library researching the remedies to these injuries, but we may have to pay Zecora a visit if I can't figure it out."

"Alright, I'll stay down here then. I'll let you know if he wakes up." And Twilight nodded and headed back up the stairs and closed the doors while Rainbow turned back around and walked over to Age. She then laid down by his side on the pillows and scanned his body. There was no question, he was in pretty bad shape, but so long as she was there, he'd be fine, after all, everypony knew that Rainbow Dash shared a special bond with Age that no one else had, because of this, Age always brought out her more feminine side. Rainbow Dash scooted up closer to his head, and then she even placed her own head over his neck, in a very feeble attempt to cuddle and comfort while Pinkie played the flute with her eyes closed. Rainbow laid there, with her practically snuggling up against him, hoping, wishing, that he'd wake up.

Inside the mind of the passed out pony, Age saw the same mighty kingdom he had seen before. It was another dream, he was sure of it, why he was having so many lately? He'd never know; he saw that everything was hazy around him, and in the blink of an eye he found himself standing in lush gardens with a majestic and large castle looming over him. He looked backwards and saw he was inside the castle walls, and then he heard something, two little giggles. He turned around and saw two little alicorn fillies running in front of him and stopping. Before they started talking he looked over their individual features, it was clear who they were. One of them was a girl, dark blue coat, aura blue mane and tail, and she had the cutest little laugh, it was Princess Luna. The other, a boy, dark blue coat as well, but he had a very short purple mane, no cutie mark, and he had wings and a horn like any alicorn would. Age saw how similar the filly was to him, and it could only have been Prince Amethyst as a filly.

"Let's go play in the gardens Luna!" The young prince shouted.

"Okay…they're this way…" And Luna ran off, him chasing her.

_The gardens are that way though…_Age thought as he watched them run off. _How do I know that?_ And a black flash appeared behind him, and he saw the adult Luna, she had penetrated his dream once more. "Luna…it's good to see you. I'm sorry we couldn't finish our discussion on the Prince." But Luna shook her head.

"You are showing me all I need to know. I felt that you were dreaming, so I decided to take a look. And now here I am. Do you know what this place is?" Luna asked him, even though he knew he wasn't really speaking with her.

"It must be Prince Amethyst's castle. The home where he lived, and the home he ran away from. But…Luna…" And the Princess turned to him. "Why does Amethyst look like me? I mean…I'm not an alicorn, I'm just a pegasus, but he's got the same coat I do, and the same mane color, minus the dark streaks. I thought Twilight said that that color combination was impossible to have on a stallion?"

"It should be…but Amethyst was very different. He was one of a kind, that's for sure. And…I'm not sure why you look like him Age, my knowledge on him only goes back to my memories, and this is one I'm already familiar with." Luna said as she looked around the dream.

"I'm sorry I can't help you further Princess, but after my wings got exposed like that, I just…I couldn't face anypony. I was too shy and embarrassed."

"Nopony blames you Age…" Luna began her soothing words, "Anypony would've run away."

Age looked down and sighed, and the two fillies came running back, as they did, Luna and Age watched them run by, and they heard the Prince squeal, "I told you it was this way!" This was the way Age thought before when they ran past him in the other direction.

"Luna…why do I recognize this place…? I've never been here before, and yet I seem to know my way around."

"That's not a question I can answer, I forget the way around here myself. How you could know is beyond me." Luna felt a sudden stir in the dream, and her horn began to sparkle. Age saw and he turned to her. "It's time for this dream to end fair Age, I hope to see you in the real world soon enough." And Age nodded his. With a flash of light, everything was black.

He groaned, his body began to ache with the very real pain of his injuries and fatigue. He flickered his eyes, and blinked a number of times, and Rainbow Dash shot up at the first noise. He turned to his rainbow colored friend without picking his head up off the pillow and smiled. "Rainbow Dash…? It that you…?" His sight was blurry, he couldn't tell for sure.

"Yeah, totally…! I can't believe you're awake! We were all so worried about you."

"You were all worried about me?"

"Yeah, especially after you disappeared like that."

"How long have I been gone?"

"You've been gone for weeks." Rainbow confessed to him.

"Aw no…" Age said as he put his head back down. "I ruined everything, now everypony thinks I'm a coward and a runaway."

"I don't…" Rainbow said and placed a hoof on his shoulder. He smiled at her, and then a light knock was heard on the door. "Who is it…?" Rainbow Dash called.

"It's us…everypony is back!" Twilight yelled through the door. And then the creak was heard and the light poured in through the open door into the dark room below. Pinkie was still sitting quietly playing her flute peacefully as a favor, and everypony got thrilled when they saw Age was awake. They all ran over to him and did their best to give him a hug without hurting him. Twilight used magic to carefully lift up his head and place the pillow Rarity made under it. Fluttershy's bunnies cuddled up against him, and Applejack set out the food which he'd eat. "Good to see you're awake Age. You've been out since late last night."

"I was…?"

"Yeah, but you're safe now. However, I looked up the injuries you got, and it looks like we're going to have to pay Zecora a visit as soon as you can walk."

"Alright…listen…" He began, "I'm truly sorry everypony for running away like that. I should've faced all of you. Can you all forgive me for that?"

They all looked at each other like he was disabled, and they all broke into a simultaneous smile. "Of course we can…rest up, okay?" Twilight gently requested.

"I will, I promise…" And everypony began to walk away, even Pinkie, but Age called out to Rainbow. "Hey Rainbow Dash…?" And she turned around while everyone else walked away, "Would you mind staying? I enjoy your company…" This made Rainbow blush.

"Sure…why not?" And just like that, she returned to his side as he closed his eyes once again.

**How's that for a makeup chapter? Now we get a little inside peek at what goes on in Age's mind, and why he's been having strange dreaming involving the Prince. After all, we all know that he's not the Prince, but if he's not, why are there so many similarities? And for the record, Zecora will be in the next chapter…and I'm thrilled to be writing her rhymes for her! I hope this makes up for my idle period, and I will update sooner than a month. **


	9. Purple, the Color of Royalty

**Okay, so during the last week between the last chapter and now, I've sent out polls to everyone following the story. I realized I'm posting tons or questions and no answers, so this will be a chapter dedicated to answering the top questions you guys wanted to get an answer to. However, the number one question wanting an answer, as you might've guessed is…**

**Is Age the Prince?**

**Unfortunately, that is the one question I am unable to answer in this story as of right now. In due time, yes, but right now, I can't; in spite of that, the number two question is surprisingly…**

**Does Age have a cutie mark?**

**I'll be honest, that surprised me. That's a question I can answer, so, here it goes…Zecora Time!**

I'll Show You the Sky

Chapter 9

Purple, the Color of Royalty

Zecora picked up Age's left wing over her head and examined it and its contents as everyone surrounded them from the outside, waiting to see if they could help anyway that they could. The seven of them made the trip to Zecora's hut earlier that morning as they had planned, and Zecora was rather shocked to see that Age was a stallion, completely ignoring his wings. This was something that made Age instantly take a liking to Zecora, as he'd also never remembered seeing a zebra before. Rainbow Dash was especially anticipated to see what the results of this exam were, and she was also eager to hear what the treatments were for the male's injuries, for she was more concerned for him than any of the other ponies, everypony knew it, but Rainbow herself couldn't seem to figure out why.

Zecora put his wing down and walked over to a book she had open with a model of a bird's wing, and then she shook her head and looked towards the Mane Six. "There is something here interesting that I see, indeed these wings of his are a mystery."

"Well…what did you find?" Twilight asked for the group.

The zebra flipped through more pages, and then she opened up another book from a stack, and turned to a page with a picture of a castle with a great wall. "A symbol of strength and pure heart, wings of his size, but also loaned and hated by judging eyes. Not from here is this male pony, but he come from a land much further than me. Mountains that eat and consumed fire, should I say this, would you call me a liar?"

Twilight looked into the book and read the small captions under the picture of the castle. "Well…what's it say Twilight…?" Applejack inquired from over her shoulder. "Is Zecora fibbing us like she said?"

"No…she's not lying. It says that the symbol of this kingdom was wings, but for some reason, any pony with wings that wasn't royalty was harassed and bullied. So, I guess we can only imagine what kind of misfortune Age went through." Twilight turned around and told this to her friends. Rarity didn't seem satisfied at all.

"But that doesn't explain a thing Twilight. Is Age from that kingdom? And wouldn't that be the same land this…Prince Amethyst was from?" Rarity had a point, and everyone seemed interested. Zecora decided to enlighten them with a different approach to their questions.

"If answers are what you seek, by mouth he must not speak. Into his mind we must peer, in order to find out what's going on around here." And she walked over to a shelf and pulled down a vial with a purple liquid in it, and she walked over to Age and set it down, taking the cap off and pushing it up to him.

"Um…what's this Zecora?" Age asked, wondering what kind of brew he was to drink.

"This is called Tears of Royalty, drink it all down and we will see. Many questions we must learn to take, but they can't be answered if you're awake. For in your memories the answers cannot be found, so we must travel deeper, to a place that's safe and sound." Enough was said, Age picked up the vial in his mouth and drank it, he didn't like the taste, he couldn't describe why. Something about that small amount of liquid fouled his tongue and stained his gums.

His head became dizzy, and his sight began to fade, the potion was already starting to affect him, and soon enough he was out. It was then that Zecora sprinkled some dust over Age's head, and once it settled on his mane, she walked over to a pot filled with a bubbling fluid. "Now we shall know, how he came to be here by to and fro. Go on my dear friends, ask away, for these answer you mustn't delay." And so all the ponies walked up to the pot and stared down into the light blue fluid churning around in a clockwise motion, and nopony nudged Age's motionless body.

"Okay, why don't we see if it works…?" Twilight pointed out. She had full confidence in Zecora's incantations, but she just wanted to see what this mind searcher spell was capable of. "How did Age meet Gregory?"

The question swirled around, and through the light blue void an image appeared of a small harp seal, flapping and flailing in the water. They then saw two hooves reach into the water and pull the little seal out and rub it dry. They assumed the seal was Gregory as a pup, and that all these memories are from a first-pony point of view. The little seal smiled and giggled, and they heard Age's voice through the pot, You'd had better be careful next time little one…if you don't, I may not be here to help thee…Thee? This only made them all more interested.

"So…" Fluttershy began, "It looks like they met when Gregory was a pup, and Age saved the dear from drowning, which must've been before he knew how to swim."

"Okay, so now we know that this spell can tell us anything we want from his past and memories. But if what Zecora said was true, we'll be able to see things that not even Age can remember, which means that we'll be going very deep into his subconscious." The explanation came from Twilight who felt a need to analyze the current spot. "Alright, what should we ask next?"

"I know…!" Applejack spoke up, "Where did this here pony come from?" She asked the bubbling pot. It swirled once again and an image showed up, and it was an image of a mighty kingdom. Fortified walls around the castle, and the whole kingdom, including the current castle and the village accompanying it were built on a mountain side. They assumed it was like Canterlot, but it wasn't hanging over the edge like it was in Canterlot, it was built going up the mountainside, and moving with the land.

"Wow…" Everyone was breathless, it looked like a beautiful kingdom. "That's on heck of a home…sort of makes me jealous…" Rainbow Dash said, she grew up in Cloudsdale, so her being impressed was saying a lot. "So this is where he's from, what a place to be born."

Twilight took a closer look at the architecture, but it didn't match any known building models she'd studied before. "I don't know where this is, there's no way that this city is in Equestria."

"In Equestria…no…" Zecora said after looked over their shoulders and seeing what they saw. "To find out the name of this place, further you must go. For it's a land where fire comes from the earth, and so sad would be this pony's birth." Zecora was referring to Age, being born in such a seemingly peaceful, yet dangerous land had to be rough. "I have a book that tells the story, but it is no epic filled with glory. No, this is a much more tragic tale, in which in these odds, nopony could prevail." And Zecora reached up on a shelf and gave Twilight and book. She opened it up and filled to a place in the pages where the symbols and all other information matched up.

"This is it you guys!" She exclaimed in excitement to her friends. "It says here that the kingdom is called the Gaitway. It's in a land neighboring Equestria, but it's still very far away. So…I guess our hutches were right, Age isn't from Equestria at all. He's from the Gaitway." Twilight showed her friends that their predictions came through, and Fluttershy had a new question for the pot.

"Hey um…Mr. pot, could you show me…uh…Age's parents? I mean…only if you can…" No one expected to see this though. Through the bubbles, they saw what appeared to be the sight of a baby pony, and through the walls of the crib, they saw two adults nuzzling together, one a brown earth pony with a black mane, Age's father, and another hot pink pony with a white mane, a unicorn too, Age's mother. They saw the two nuzzle, and then Age's mother put his snout into the crib, and they saw the baby hooves of Age grab her snout, and they heard a small peep, Mama…Their hearts melted.

"His parents…if his dad was an earth pony and his mom was a unicorn…that…that doesn't make any sense…!" Before going off on a rampage, Twilight looked at the pot and said, "Why does Age have a blue coat and a purple mane?" The fluid swirled once more, and they saw a wise old unicorn with a crown on his head and a purple mane and tail. They assumed he was the king of the Gaitway at the time. An advisor walked up the carpet leading to him, and bowed his head. Good King…They heard the advisor say, I've received reports of a young foal that has been born. But...this is no ordinary foal. This one has wings, and his mane is a dark and alluring purple like yours! And, to top it all off, it's an alicorn!

"AN ALICORN…!" Everypony in the hut yelled.

"Age isn't an alicorn!" Rainbow Dash quickly pointed out, but Pinkie shushed her.

"Shh…! Quiet Rainbow Dash, I want to hear the end of the story, it's just starting to get good!" But Pinkie's wish was cut short by Rainbow asking the pot another question.

"Why are his wings so big?" They all assumed it was a natural mutation, but they were all surprised to see Age's point of view as a young foal walking with his father towards a home, presumably theirs. They noticed that the home was inside a forest and not in a big city, they guessed it was because since Age was born with wings, he'd be mocked in public in the city. Through the echoic voices of the potion, they heard the conversation that ensued, and they heard a young Age's voice, very young indeed.

Pa…why are my wings so big? I mean, I've seen stories of other ponies with wings, but none were this big. It scares me Pa, I think something is wrong with me. But the image of Age's father shook his head and laughed.

You have nothing to worry yourself with my son. Wings are a gift that few are bestowed here, count yourself lucky. And…with wings of that size…you'll be the greatest flyer in the world. But, why they're so big…well my son, I think you had the chance to be part of an ancient group of protectors of the city. The Defenders of the Gaitway, it was made of four different members. The one with Flight, the one with Magic, the one with Strength, and the one with Heart; I bet the soul of the one with Flight has been reincarnated into your wings and you have their gifts.

So I'm special? Little Age asked. But his dad laughed.

You'll always be special to me my son, whether you were a pegasus or not.

And the vision faded, ending as the question had been answered. "So…Age is a Defender of the Gaitway, a protector of his home. So his wings have magical properties, and that's why they're so big!" Twilight yelled, happy to figure that out. "Alright, so we have few questions answered now. He's from a land outside of Equestria called the Gaitway, his wings are infused with some kind of magic, which apparently makes them bigger than normal, and he's some kind of protectors for his home. I think that's all we needed."

"Wait…" Rarity asked, "I have a question." And she leaned over the pot and stared it down like Fluttershy does to her animals if they misbehave. "How is it that Age has a blue coat and a purple mane?"

The liquid stirred, and it showed another first pony point-of-view scene of a still very young Age inside the castle shown before, and inside, his mane was being combed down in front of him, and it was dark purple, but there were no darker streaks yet. They saw the king from earlier approach the young foal, and his deep, older voice broke the stillness of the sight. A pony born purple is a pony born royal. Should anypony ever see that their mane or tail is this shade, they were destined for greatness, and the Mountains of Fire shed their grace upon you.

It wasn't a complete answer, but it was enough for Rarity. "So…does this mean purple isn't his natural mane color? I mean, that would explain a lot. If so, I wonder what his real color is…I mean, I can tell that this purple shade isn't dye." Rarity tried making sense of it, but stopped, as she was getting a headache.

"I guess it means that his mane and tail are also infused with some kind of magic, giving them that strange shade of purple." Twilight clarified for her. "Looks like that's all the questions that matter then…"

"WAIT…!" Pinkie Pie screamed and caught everypony's attention. "I think you're all forgetting very important question…" And Pinkie got up on the cauldron and leaned in and screamed, "IS AGE THE PRINCE…?!"

For the last time, the potion formed a whirlpool shape as the image came through. It showed a vast starry night, but the sight was off what seemed to be a teenaged Age looking up at a balcony in the castle, and through the night he heard a scream. The Prince…the Prince! Our beloved Prince Amethyst is dead! And lights all throughout the village went on, and the sight shifted to a seal, Gregory. They heard a much stronger voice come from Age as he spoke, even though they couldn't see him. I guess that's it then Gregory…Prince Amethyst GeoEron is officially dead…And the vision faded, and the glow of the liquid stopped.

"That's it for the time…" Zecora stepped in and covered the now still liquid. "Now all that remains in motionless slime. All the answers that you seek, I hope don't pile into something unsteady and bleak." Behind them, now that the incantation was over, Age was beginning to stir, and Rainbow Dash was right by his side when she heard it.

"Oh…what happened…?"

"It's okay Age…you're fine." Rainbow said to him, "Hey Zecora, how about these injuries of his?" But Zecora shook her head.

"Many remedies I have in this room, but none that cane save him from his foreseen doom. For to mend these wounds you seek a key, but time is the only remedy."

And such, everypony left Zecora's hut, with answers, but yet still more questions. In particular, they were wondering what they saw when they asked if Age was Prince Amethyst, it looked as though Age had killed him. But one thing that Rainbow Dash wanted to ask was, "Hey Age…" She said as she walked beside him, "What's your cutie mark? I haven't seen it…" But the pegasus looked profound, as he had when she reminded him that he was a pegasus at all.

"What's a cutie mark…? I don't have one."

**My neck hurts and I'm tried, I'm calling it a night, I'll save author's notes for later. I hope I answered some questions you guys had. Leave any further questions you want answered in a review, or something else, I don't care. Good night!**


	10. On My Friend's Wings

**So I guess that settles it then, Age doesn't have a cutie mark, though I should be the first to tell you that it truly doesn't matter. By the way, has anyone else noticed that there are a lot of unused places on the map of Equestria? I have, but I intend to fix that, this includes the Badlands, Hollow Shades, Crystal Mountains, and those ruins in out in the middle of the Everfree forest. I bet you all can't wait to see all that stuff right? Well you'll have to wait until we found out what wing power Age has, can he beat Rainbow Dash's 16.5?**

**I've also taken a liberty upon myself to give you guys a say in what happens, so, leave your questions in a review or a PM and I'll pick one to answer. Just for you guys! Now...question time!  
**

**Q1. wheres the rest my questions are still unanswered! - Guest  
**

**A1. Like I said, ask at the end, and I'll try to answer it for you in the next chapter.  
**

**Q2. And well that's one way I guess of answering questions, though maybe it would have been better if these questions were slowly answered. Well, what's done is done, and let's see how you handle the rest of his story.  
**

**A2. I thought that if I took too long to answer people would lose interest. But yeah, answering them slowly would've been a good idea. I just didn't want to risk it.  
**

I'll Show You the Sky

Chapter 10

On My Friend's Wings

"You don't have a cutie mark…?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed at her friend, not very loudly, as they were in the Everfree Forest and didn't wish to attract any attention to themselves, but still loud enough to emphasize her shock.

"Yeah…where I come from, there's no such thing as a cutie mark. Ponies were just ponies. There was no jurisdiction of talents, we were just…us…" Age explained to them. They seemed interested by the lack of identity in Age's old home, which was now identified as the Gaitway. Twilight found this name fascinating, and took it upon herself to do some extra thinking, and she also pondered a way to tell Age that they had been searching through his mind.

"That's makes sense, I means, who needs a cutie mark to tell you who you are, right?" Applejack said with a delighted smile. But Rarity turned to her and gave her a smirk.

"Our sisters…or did you forget about the existence of the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Please, I'm still upset about the time they used my golden silk for those silly, yet still fabulous capes that they made!" Rarity said with flare, also flicking her mane in the process.

This was about the time that Twilight felt was right to speak, so she picked her horn up high and breathed heavily. "Age…" She said turning back to him while everyone was still walking. "I need to ask you a question…" But he only smiled at her.

"Shoot…" He said while still being supported by Rainbow Dash.

"Do you remember what your parents look like?" The question moved him, he hadn't been asked about that in such a long time, but one never forgets their parents, and Age was no exception.

"Of course I do…I love my parents with all my heart. My mother was a unicorn, a very pink unicorn too! I'd never seen anything like her, if her coat color was a fabric in Rarity's shop, it would sell out in no time! My dad was an earth pony, he had the brownest coat you'll ever see, and his mane was pitch black. He kept telling everyone that it was just a really dark brown, but everyone knew it was really black. I wonder to this day how I'm a pegasus if my parents were a unicorn and an earth pony, but I guess I just had some pegasus somewhere in the family." He recalled everything with a smile, and the group felt dumb that they hadn't just asked if he knew of his parents. "Why do you ask Twilight?" She shook her head,

"Well…we may have…used a spell to look into your memories since you couldn't remember them yourself." Age raised an eyebrow like he didn't know why she was talking the way she was. " And we saw your parents, so we were just wondering if you knew them, what they looked like I mean. And we also found out the name of your old home, is called…"

"Don't tell me…" Age interrupted her. "I left that place for a reason, I don't want to have any memory of it…" And he started to walk on his own. They all watched him, he seemed to not care that they looked into his mind, but they guessed it was because he had nothing to hide, therefore it didn't matter what they saw. Age was beginning to slip and fall due to his bruised legs and aching chest, so Rainbow flew to his side and returned the support he needed. They smiled at each other, grateful for the help, and the seven ponies walked back to Ponyville.

Once the seven arrived, the stopped in the middle of Manestreet, and everyone except Age had smiles on their faces. He looked around curiously, and nopony was in sight. "Uh…where is everypony?" he asked the six, and Pinkie Pie got up in the front of all of them and yelled,

"SURPRISE…!" And suddenly, ponies from everywhere, windows, doors, alleys, every one of them came to Manestreet and in unison yelled.

"WELCOME TO PONYVILLE AGE…!" And Pinkie Pie shot her party cannon and confetti was everywhere. Age was stunned, he was in public, with his wings at their full length, and no one was saying anything. In fact, everypony started coming up to Age and greeting him and giving him their wishes to get well again, and as shy and meek as he was about his wings, he was so moved and touched by their affection. Rainbow Dash turned to him and winked, and she supported him all the way to the center where the confetti was still falling and everypony was cheering for their new arrival. "Say something…!" Yelled a random pony from the crowd; Age smiled, and with the help of Rainbow Dash, the other ponies gathered around him and took their places by his side.

"I…I…I just don't know what to say everypony." He wasn't crying, but was sure filled with joy and happiness. "From where I come from, before I came here, ponies, and other creatures that saw the real me, they tore me down on the spot. They called me a freak, and treated me like a mutant of nature. But…after being in Ponyville for the short time that I have been, I see that…not every place is as judging as my home. In fact, Ponyville is the nicest place I've ever lived, and I say that having come right out of living in the Everfree Forest for a few weeks." And the crowd laughed, "Thank you all, truly…Equestria is awesome…Ponyville…is awesome…" And the crowd cheered once more. Everything he said was true, the ponies and other residents of Ponyville cared not for his physical appearance, they learned that lesson from Zecora. Rainbow Dash winked at Age, and he went to accept the wishes of his new fellow ponies.

The welcome party when on for hours, and honestly, nopony would forget it, after all, when Pinkie Pie throws a party, anypony better not forget it, or they'd hear it from the ponies who did. Inside the main room of Sugarcube Corner, where most of the parties were held, after the whole room started to clear and the Cakes started to clean up, the Mane Six and Age walked outside. He was able to walk better, but still not entirely on his own. He was still smiling at the kindness of the townsponies, and he offered his returned favor right away.

"Please, if there's anything I can do in return…just tell me." They all nodded, but free time is a virtue in Ponyville, and as soon as they began to walked back, Applejack stopped Age, who was still being supported by Rainbow Dash.

"Why don't you let me handle it for a while sugar cube…? I might have need of him on the farm." Rainbow nodded.

"Alright, but be very careful, we don't know what his limits are." She said and passed his weight to Applejack's. Rainbow then flew up, and gave Age a salute goodbye and darted off, probably towards her home. Applejack then escorted Age to Sweet Apple Acres, and there, he'd be put to some easy work, as Applejack though his wings would come in handy on many things around the farm.

Once there, all three of the earth ponies started harvesting apples while Age sat near the front of the barn feeling helpless. He had already moved a few things down into the cellar, and he also got a few extra ingredients for Granny Smith to make some extra apple pies to donate to the bakery, but other than that he just sat there like a bump on a log. After a few minutes of not doing anything, Age stood up and walked over to Apple Bloom, who was giving water to the pigs. "Apple Bloom…?" He said to her, and she turned to him in delight.

"Yes Age…what is it?"

"I feel so…useless. Isn't there something more I can do?" But the filly shook her head.

"Age, you're still recovering from the incident with the Everfree Forest and all, we don't want to push you too hard, you know?" She was trying to show concern. "I also heard that you don't have a cutie mark, and your just barely older than my sis' and her friends! How did that happen…it'd be interesting if you told me and my fellow Crusaders!?" Age smiled.

"I'll tell you guys why…but not right now…" It was then that Age saw Applejack, and he excused himself from Apple Bloom's presence and approached her from behind. "Hey Applejack…!" And she turned around and saw him. "Look I know you're watching out for me and all…but please tell me that there is something that I can do, preferably one that doesn't involve sitting." Applejack only shook her head and smiled.

"Age, we both know that since the only part of you that wasn't injured in that rodeo of a forest was your wings, everything else is damaged to some degree. I'm sorry that I'm making you feel bad n' all, but there's just no job I can assign you that I'm certain won't make you in any worse shape than you already are. Forgive me kindly…" And she walked past him and he watched as she walked up to the barn and placed a barrel of apples she was carrying. He then saw Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom carrying buckets of apples to the same spot. This gave the large winged pony a good idea.

"Hey Applejack…!" And not only Applejack turned to face him, but so did Big Mac and Apple Bloom. "If my wings are the only thing that are fully functional, why don't we use them as such? Put a bunch of bucket up against the side of the barn…I have an idea…" And he walked backwards and spread his wings, ready to try his idea.

Applejack didn't like where this was going, but it was clear she wasn't going to talk him out of it. A few minutes of noting but the three Apples lining the front of their barn with buckets, barrels, and wagons used to carry the apples they bucked and picked. "Alright Age…everything is set…have at it! Whatever it is…" Applejack said the last part under her breath, but after the first part of the sentence, Age flapped once, and like usual, shot sharply into the sky. He flapped up on the high, and they saw him grin from down below.

Age was eager to try this idea, and he turned his wings to the front and started flapping forward, and at first nothing happened. The Apples watched him, they really had no idea what he was trying to do, but as Applejack was about to say something, she felt the wind starting to pick up and push against her face. Her hat started to rattle a bit, and her mane began to blow back. The air was rushing towards them, and Apple Bloom got behind Big Macintosh and hid from the powerful, and over-whelming blasts. Macintosh turned towards the apple trees, and then he realized what he was doing, the reason they had placed all the collection barrels and buckets in front of the barn was because Age was creating a powerful wind using his wings to blow the apples out of the trees towards the barn, in which they'd bounced off the barn and fall into the buckets. And in due time, after Age quickly snapped his wings back and thrust them forward one final time, the entire orchard shook and apples from the entire front field flew off the trees, hit the barn, and fell into one of the set holders placed. Applejack was busy holding onto her hat, but she managed to get a look at the apples flying overhead and landing in the buckets. It wasn't a perfect strategy, and she did notice that many, along with the ones that got in the buckets, also missed and fell on the ground, only to start stacking up against the barn. Age stopped flapping as soon as he saw the trees were bare, which was only a matter of seconds after his final, hard wing strike, and he slowly drifted down to the ground, almost gliding even to come to a stop. He set down in front of the three Apples, and practically fell over due to his legs being in use once more, but he caught himself, and looked to Applejack with a grin.

"Wow…we've never been done that fast before…" Applejack said looking at their entire North field. Not a single apple was seen in the trees, it was all right there, at the front of the barn. "Now all we have to do clean up the apples that go on the ground, and store the ones in the buckets. Thanks Age…you sure have a gift…" Applejack said and picked up a barrel on her back and started to haul it over to her cellar.

"What…?" Age was stunned; all of them were just moving the Apples, acting like he wasn't there. "Well…I could move another field for you!" But Applejack stopped in her tracks.

"That's quite alright there Age; we already have enough spare time with this field being done. I wouldn't know what to do with all that extra time complied with what we already got. Why don't you fly on over to the track field? I hear Rainbow Dash is there…" Age seemed disappointed, he knew they weren't getting rid of him, but it felt like it. He knew was it was though as flew away from the farm, he simply did more than was asked of him, and that caused his time there to be shorten by getting everything done too quickly.

It wasn't that he was upset, he was just unrested by his inner guilt for having to create such a mess for the Apples, and then not even be asked to help clean up. He tried not thinking about it, but nothing seemed to be able to take his mind off it until he saw the track field in the distance, and sure enough, there was Rainbow Dash with an anemometer racing around the track. Age landed nearby and watched her fly, and she went around and around and around, and soon enough he just stood up and said, "Rainbow Dash…!" Which of course, threw off her balance and made her fall with a thud; Age covered his face with his wings and didn't watch her crash, out of respect of course. After he heard nothing, he uncovered his face and walked over to a dazed, blue pegasus. "Wow…you must've really been in the zone…" Age complimented. She got up and shook herself off, but she still wasn't happy about crashing.

"Yeah…I was…until you broke me out of it. But whatever, it's nothing I can't recover from." And she flew over to the device and grinned. "Awesome…!" And she flew in circles, happy about whatever she saw.

"I recognize this thing…" Age said as he walked over to it. "It's an anemometer…it tells you what your wing power is…right?" And Rainbow answered as she flew back down.

"Totally, and I just beat my best wing power record, no longer am I 16.5…now I'm 17.2!"

"Wow Dash…that's impressive…I wonder what my wing power is…?" But this only gave Dash an idea.

"Why don't you try it out then?" But Age gave her a look of shock.

"Me…? Try that…?"

"Yeah, sure…why not…?" She said and pointed to the track. Age just sighed and shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the track point. He got in the ready position, and flapped his wings the proper way like he'd seen Rainbow Dash do. The wind behind his blew hard, and in another second he shot forward, taking the air with him and literally streaking past the machine. He spread out his wings to land, but once again covered his face from the air he brought with him. He walked back over to his friend, and she was staring at the machine with her jaw on the ground.

"So…? What's my wing power…?" Age asked, sort of excited, but still nervous.

"Age…you have 15.1 wing power…!" Age nearly fell over.

"I have 15.1…? How is that even possible…? I've never even tried this before! It has to be because my wings are so big…!" But Rainbow shook her head.

"Nope, the size has nothing to do with it. I would know because the Hulk, they call him Snowflake, has those itty bitty wings, but his wing powers still measured 10.6, so I assure you, you aren't just a fluke, you have some real potential wing your wings!" This made Age feel really go about himself, and he even smiled.

"Well then what are we waiting for!? Let's get training…!" And he ran to the track and started flying around in circles, and Rainbow was soon to join him.

Weeks when by, and the time the two spent together on the track became their whole lives. For hours every day after Rainbow was done with Cloud Duty, the two friend raced around the track and performed tricks in the sky to increase all the attributes of a master flyer. Rainbow Dash showed Age the ropes, and he was a natural flyer in her opinion, even after not doing it for so long. During that time, Age went to Rarity's boutique and got himself a haircut, and his tail was fixed up as well. His mane returned to the short cut with the curl on the end, and his tail was groomed out to flow more easily. In short, he looked like his old self again, just with a much shorter mane and tail. After about a month since Age measured his wing power for the first time, he was standing on the track once more with Rainbow Dash, and Twilight was sitting near the anemometer ready to test their wing power once more.

"Alright Rainbow Dash…you first…!" The unicorn called, and Rainbow propelled her wings and shot like a bullet pat the device. She then flew back over to Twilight, and she was grinning.

"Yes…!" Rainbow yelled. "No longer am I a pony of 17.2 wing power, now I'm a pony of 17.5!" It wasn't much, but for Rainbow Dash, a little improvement was still an improvement. "You're up Age…" And Age did the same.

After his run, he walked back to the machine, and Twilight nodded at Rainbow. "So…?"

"Age…you have a top wing power of 16.8!" Age was ecstatic. He nearly improved his wing power by 2 in just a month.

"That's awesome…!" But as the pegasi were celebrating, Spike came up to Twilight from behind and tapped on her shoulder.

"Uh…Twilight…" And she turned to face him. He held out a letter, and Twilight used her magic to open up and read it. She widened her eyes, and turned to the two other friends giving each other wing bumps.

"Uh…guys…?" She said and got their attention. "Princess Celestia is requesting our presence in Canterlot…pronto…"

**Not really much of an author's not on this one, just remember…If you want a question answered, leave it in a review or a PM and I'll work the answer into the next chapter. I realize you guys have lots of questions, so from now on, ask, and I'll answer.**


	11. The New Task at Hoof

**I don't have any questions to answer this time around, nor any requests to follow through with. But I do have a dedication.**

**I recently had a surgery in my mouth, and I had a friend who was deeply worried, I'd like to give this chapter to him as a reassurance that I'm A-Okay! **

**KevinBlu…this one's for you!**

I'll Show You the Sky

Chapter 11

The New Task at Hoof

The train sped forward towards Canterlot Castle up the mountainside and through the many tunnels that surrounded the area. On board the train were our heroines and Age, and one thing was for sure amongst all of them, they were all clueless as to why they'd been summoned so suddenly by the Princess. "It's just doesn't make any sense…" Twilight said trying to figure it out in her mind. "Why would Princess Celestia summon all of us un-notified?" Her friends all shared in her ignorance, and it had long been the topic of discussion on the ride to Canterlot.

"Maybe Discord is back…" Fluttershy suggested, but everyone shook their head denying it.

"No, we froze him in stone real good. There's no way he's getting out of that." Twilight said toward the yellow pegasus. Applejack spoke up to the group next with her ideas.

"Maybe the Changelings and their Queen have shown back up. After all, even I'd want revenge after a bull ride of a fight like that. They were really whipped around." The cow-pony made a good point, but there was one thing missing from her point that made the difference.

"Applejack…" Twilight began, "As right as you are, Changelings leave a very foul odor in the air; not to mention their black hides. We would've seen them all swarming from Ponyville if that were true." There wasn't even the slightest idea among the group members as to what the situation could be. Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie jumped up and yelled,

"Maybe the Princess is throwing us a PARTY!" But everyone looked at the pink wonder like she was made of jelly. There was no comment to be made, it was impossible with Pinkie. Rarity flicked her mane like she always did before speaking.

"Well whatever the reason is, it has to be important to some extent. And it had better be worth it too, I was in the middle of creating my newest fashion line when we were called." Oh Rarity, such a drama queen, but that's why everypony loved her. She was a good friend, no question, despite her sometimes selfish sounding attitude. Twilight smiled at the amusement her friend provided, but then she turned to the train cart window they were in and saw Rainbow Dash and Age standing together, both looking out the window.

"Hey Age, Rainbow Dash, you two have been awfully quiet this whole train ride. Is there something wrong?" What the unicorn said was true, since stepping onto the train, the two pegasi had not said a word to anyone, not even to each other, and if they had, nopony heard it. The pegasus with the purple mane faced Twilight, and he sighed with anguish.

"I'm sorry Twilight, it's just that…" And he looked to Rainbow Dash, who had turned her own body to face him as well. Then together, they both looked at Twilight, sort of like a well-oiled machine those two were. "Rainbow and I have this uneasy hunch that…whatever this is about, it has something to do with me." The stallion then lowered his head, and Rainbow Dash gave him a pony hug like she always had by placing her neck over his and resting it there. Age returned the gesture, and Twilight stood up and walked over to him.

"Age…you're our friend, I promise you…no matter what this is about, it has nothing to do with you." She tried to reassure him, but it seemed to only work a little.

"I sure hope so Twilight…" He moaned in a very ominous tone, and then put his full effort into returning Rainbow's hug, something he loved when she did it. And then, the train pulled into Canterlot Station, and the doors opened.

(Inside Canterlot Castle)

One of Princess Celestia's pegasus guards with the typical white coat and blue mane lead the group through the main gardens and through the castles doors. It was a number of halls and passages before the main door to the throne room was in front of everypony, but once there, the guard, with his usual stern and serious expression turned to Twilight, for she was the one leading the group through the castle behind the good sir. All the ponies in the group were still on edge about the entire ordeal, after all, who wouldn't be after a blank calling from the Princess? They all knew that they'd all have to play a part in whatever was about to happen, and they were going to be sure that they were all there for one another. The guard turned his face towards Twilight, and all the other ponies faced the guard as well as an act of respect.

"The Princesses are waiting for you inside." The guard said in a deep, mannered voice.

_Princesses…? This must be more serious than I thought if both of the Princesses are involved. _Thought Twilight to herself after their escort spoke. "Thank you kind sir…we'll see ourselves in." And the guard nodded and walked of.

In front of the door were the two usual guards standing at the doors sides, and Twilight used her magic to swing the door open. She, and the other Mane Six members walked through the door and past the guards with ease, but when Age tried to walked through, the guards' wings flew up and blocked his path like they had done at Princess Celestia's party when Fluttershy tried to walk past them. They gave him nasty glares, as they had been trained to do. The one guard on the right side of the door looked him in the eye and said, "Only authorized ponyel beyond this point…" Age seemed shocked, but didn't bother talking back to a royal guard.

Rainbow Dash saw the small problem and turned around to the guards. "Hey, it's okay you guys, he's with us. The Princess invited him…" Her attempt was notable, but Age stopped her.

"It's okay Rainbow Dash, just go. If I'm not expected, than I guess this means I'm not the source of this problem after all; go ahead, I'll just wait here." The blue pony said to her, to which she sighed in sadness.

"Alright Age, if you say so." And she sprung up into a small flight and flew back over to her friends who were forming up near the steps to the throne.

All of the ponies saw that the Princess was staring out the window of the room, but she had a troubled look on her face. It was almost as if she was mentally preparing to tell all the ponies something that would shock them. They also noticed Princess Luna was standing the corner of the room watching them. Seeing as how it was the corner near the door, she was well away from her sister, but still, the room wasn't that enormous. Celestia sighed and took a deep breath shortly after and turned towards the ponies with confidence in her eyes.

"Greetings my little ponies…" She was about to continue, but she noticed a certain absence among the members of the group. "Where's Age…?" Rainbow Dash trembled at this, for she had been worried about him. Yet, she was the only one who knew that he hadn't been let in, so she had no choice but to tell.

"The guards at the door didn't let him inside. They said he's not authorized to come in." Celestia shook her head.

"Luna, would you…?" And she gestured to Luna to take care of the situation at the door. The Princess then proudly walked over to the door and gave the signal for the guards to stand down and let the big winged pony inside. The guards seemed shocked at first, but followed through with their Princess's wishes.

They lowered their wings and allowed Age passage into the throne room, and once he was through, he got a very warm welcome and greeting from Luna. "Nice to see you again fair Age. I'm must apologize for that misunderstanding at the door. I don't know why they didn't let you through; when we sent out the invitation to Twilight Sparkle and her friends, we expected you come along as well, in fact we were planning on it."

"Thank you Princess Luna…" Age began. "All is forgiven, so long as I have no further troubles to be involved in." Age meant it as a joke, but Luna seemed a little serious when she heard this. She frowned, and when Age noticed, she held her head high.

"Join the others, you need to hear this."

With that, Age walked behind the group and joined Rainbow Dash at her side as Luna walked up to her sister. Celestia then approached the Mane Six and looked very much like her guards, stern and serious. It was then that she gave a final breath to the air, and she spoke. "I have asked you all here because I have a special mission for you…" Normally, they would have been excited, but by her tone, they were all very on edge about this particular assignment. "I need you all to go on a journey to some remote places around Equestria, and search for clues about Prince Amethyst's disappearance." The ponies gasped in pure shock and straight surprise, and Twilight was the first to step up.

"Princess, that's a massive undertaking for us. Are you sure we'd all be able to do it? I mean, we were all barely able to save the day during my brother's wedding!" Her plead was understandable. The Princess nodded her head.

"I understand Twilight, this is a very long and yet still precious quest to take. I probably should've mentioned this sooner, but…" She seemed as if whatever she was about to say was really important, as if she should've said it at the beginning instead of now. All the ponies looked in anticipation at her, and Luna stood her ground at well. Even though Luna knew what the issue was, she still had a hard time believing it herself. "We have been visited by a group of ponies…ponies from the Gaitway." Everyone gasped like somepony grabbed their lungs and squeezed them.

"The Gaitway…?" Twilight breathed out in a huff of shock and fright. "But…that's…that's impossible! Why would anypony from the Gaitway come to Canterlot?" It was an answer everyone wanted to know.

Princess Celestia looked at each other, but before either of them spoke, a unicorn guard from one of Celestia's sides stopped them. "Your Highnesses…!" And the whole room turned to him. "Might I tell this one My Lady…I remember the whole conversation, word for word…?" He asked very formally to his Princesses, even going so far as taking off his helmet and bowing. Like a true gentleman, and acknowledging it as so, the Princesses gave him the floor.

"Very well, come forward…" Luna said and pointed her hoof. The guard came in-between the two alicorns and faced the Mane Six. He nodded to everyone respectfully and spoke.

"It was two days ago when they arrived here in Canterlot…"

(Flashback)

All was still in the Throne Room on this day, for there had been no excitement, good or bad all throughout the hours of the morning. Not that any of the guards had problems with that, the fewer problems to deal with, the better. Princess Celestia was sitting on her throne writing out another letter to somepony, and her two guards stood near the foot of her throne like they always had. Out of the stillness came a knock on the door. The guards all tensed up, and Princess Luna came walking in.

"My Sister, there's a group of ponies here to see you. They don't appear to be…native to these lands." This instantly caught Celestia's attention. The guard on the left got serious and turned to the Princess.

"Shall we be rid of them Your Highness?" But the Princess shook her head.

"No, this could be important." She said to him, and then faced her sister. "Let them in Little Sister." And Luna nodded and exited the room. Princess Celestia walked down the ramp to her throne, and when she walked past the guard on the right, the one telling the tale, he got the Princess's attention with a subtle coughing noise.

"Pardon me Princess, but might we meet them in here instead…? It could be unsafe…" But the Princess only nodded.

"If it will make you more comfortable, fine; I'll have their audience in here." And the alicorn stopped walking and just stood where she was.

Luna arrived shortly after with a group of what looked to be twelve ponies. Every one of them was wearing a gray cloak with a white string holding the front together. The walked in what looked like a V formation, but it was a very wide V. The one in the very center stopped, and all the others stopped behind them. The center pony pulled back their hood, revealing it to be a very old stallion, a unicorn to be exact. He had a short white mane, and a coat almost as gray as his cloak. He then bowed in respect to the Princess as Luna walked up beside her sister and stopped there. Then the olden pony began to speak to them.

"Greetings Princesses of Equestria…we come in the name of Prince Amethyst GeoEron and his legacy…" Luna held in her shock, but Celestia stood her ground.

"Very well then, I bid you welcome to Canterlot. You may continue…" Celestia said to them, and the aged pony continued.

"Thank you Princess; we are from the Prince's home in the Gaitway. We've been traveling for weeks, to come here, and we are here for one sole purpose. That purpose is to bring our beloved Prince home."

"Go on…" Celestia said to the pony.

"Over in the Gaitway, we have received reports of sightings of Prince Amethyst here in Equestria, most recently in Canterlot to be exact. Might you tell us where he is?" But the alicorn had nothing to tell them. It was Luna however that spoke next.

"We bid you our condolences, but we know not of Prince Amethyst in Canterlot. I'm sure you know that my sister and I were friends with him as fillies 1,000 years back, but according to our sources, the Prince perished a long time ago." Luna did her best to remember what Age had told her at the Garden Party. "But…might I ask who reported these sightings?" The stallion held firm.

"We promised to keep their names anonymous. It is a means of safety for them. And yes, we are all quite aware of your past friendship with Amethyst. We would also think that a Princess would know better, after all, an alicorn doesn't perish so easily. Our Prince is out there, we can all feel it. We will bring him home someday. However, who else's word can we trust if not the Princess's? If you say that he isn't here, we shall oblige. Good day your highnesses, take this if you will." And he levitated a scroll out of his satchel with his magic, which burned a dark red for some reason, and gave the scroll to Luna. "Read it when we leave…On the Wings of Amethyst!" He hollered, and suddenly, all the other ponies yelled,

"On the Wings of Amethyst…!"

It must've been the slogan of this little group, possibly even the whole Gaitway. The twelve ponies turned around and left, and the guards walked them out. Princess Luna wasn't sure how to respond to the scroll that they had been given, but neither was eager to find out.

(End of Flashback)

"After that, they all left. There was no trace of them afterwards, almost like they had never been here. If those ponies are from the Gaitway, they are some of the most mysterious ponies I've ever met." The guard finished.

"Thank you…" Celestia said and relieved the guard. The unicorn stepped back to his post and Luna lifted the scroll with magic to Twilight, who opened it and began to read.

_My Dear Prince,_

_We know not where you are, but know that your people and your country miss you terribly. I look forward to the day we can meet hoof to hoof once more. I have already sent word to your friend in the Badlands that the search for you has begun. Sit tight my Prince, and remember, a pony born purple is a pony born royal._

_Sincerely,_

_Time Rift and the White Manes_

"Time Rift and the White Manes…? The Badlands…? What is all this?" Twilight asked Celestia after reading it, with all the other ponies listening intently.

Celestia sighed, she knew this was going to happen at some point. "Twilight, the White Manes is a group of Gaitway ponies who formed after Amethyst disappeared. Their society has been kept a secret since it was formed, and they've all made it their sole purpose to bring Amethyst home. They have a hunch that he's still alive. I don't know for sure who Time Rift is, but I can only assume that it's their leader."

"I bet I can assume why they've kept secret, but why do we need to go on this quest?" Twilight asked for her friends. Shockingly, Rainbow Dash flew up and said,

"Yeah, don't you have guards or something that can do this for you?"

"I need you all to do this as an act of security. It will also give you the chance to explore Equestria, I believe few of you have ever really been outside Ponyville. Am I wrong…?" No, she wasn't. "And, you all also possess the Elements of Harmony, so you can always use them if things get rough out there."

"But…" It was Age peeping up from the back of the group. "Why me Princess…? I don't have an Element, what help could I be?"

"I believe that because you seem to have more knowledge on Amethyst than anypony I've known in many years, you could be a vital asset to this quest. Tell me, doesn't that slogan they were saying ring any bells?" Age thought hard on it for a moment, _On the Wings of Amethyst…_yes! They did remind him of something.

"Yes, it does Princess! It was going to be the Gaitway's oath while the Prince was on the throne. It was determined at his crowning when he became the Prince." Age exclaimed in remembrance. The Princesses, and everypony for that, smiled at his useful info.

"Good, now…" Celestia said to the ponies, "I can only give you a starting point, for sources are so limited. I am sending you all to Sires to find and meet and old friend of Amethyst's." Twilight quaked, did she really just say Sires? **(Sires: pronunciation {si-rus})**

"Princess…Sires is in the Badlands. Actually, Sires is the only known established, settled town in the Badlands by ponies." Twilight complained.

"I know that it's dangerous, but you must seek out Amethyst's old friend. You've already been told that he singled hoofedly founded a dragon reserve, yes…?" They nodded to her. "It's there that you must go, seek out the dragon which calls himself Garble."

"Wait…" Applejack cut in, "Prince Amethyst…of the Gaitway…founded a dragon reserve…in Equestria? Why didn't he create it in his own land?"

"Another time we'll explain that fair Applejack, but we have more important issues." Luna said after Applejack asked her question. Celestia then wrapped everything up,

"I know that all of this seems daunting my little ponies, but believe when I say that I wouldn't entrust you with this task if you weren't up to it. I fear the wrong ponies may be looking into this, so I ask you, can you do this for me…?"

The looks on everypony's faces were uncertain. The Canterlot Wedding, dealing with Nightmare Moon, the buffalo in Appleloosa, stopping Discord, all of it seeming petit compared to this. Age of all the ponies was unsure, there was a hint of fear and intimidation in the air, but nopony would let that stop them. If the Princesses needed them, they'd be there. Twilight stepped forward with a serious smiled on her face.

"You can count on us Princess…" And all her friends cheered behind her. The Princesses smiled.

(A few hours later)

All the ponies were outside the train station ready to board the train to Sires. Even though the Badlands were a very inhospitable place, as long as they had each other, they'd all be fine. Age didn't have time to say goodbye to Gregory and Tine, so he just wished they were okay with him being gone. They all had their satchels on with supplies given to them by the Princess, and once the ready was ready, all the ponies climbed in. By this point, the sky was orange and purple, signaling that night was near, and when the train whistle sounded, they were off. They all put their bags in their designated sleeping quarters on the train, and Age was feeling a little insecure about being the only male on the train, but he'd live with it. After all the basic stuff was out of the way, they all gathered in the main cart to talk.

"I wonder what this is going to lead to. Prince Amethyst has had mystery surrounding him since I first found out about him." Twilight said to her friends. Fluttershy spoke next.

"I just hope all of the animals will be okay with me being gone for so long." Pinkie jumped in the center and yelled,

"This doesn't mean we can throw a party! Let's have a going away party, literally!" But nopony seemed interested.

"Sorry sugar cube, I don't think this is the best time." Applejack said.

"I think we all just need some shut eye." Rainbow Dash said and yawned. "What do you think Age?" And everypony turned to him, not just Rainbow Dash.

"I don't know if I can sleep Rainbow Dash. The White Manes are scaring me for some reason. Sleep probably isn't going to be an option for me tonight." He said in sorrow.

"Leave that to me…" They all heard a voice in the cart, no, it couldn't be? They all looked towards the rear door, and Princess Luna was standing there.

"Luna…" Age said. "What are you doing here?" But the Princess only walked forward with a calm step.

"Prince Amethyst was my closest and dearest friend. I talked it over with my sister, and if there's going to be a quest to find him, I am going along." They all understood, but she spoke with a solemn tone, almost like she had her own doubts about the trip. "Now, everypony go to your bunks, we have a long journey ahead of us."

All of the ponies listened to her and departed for their beds. Twilight climbed into hers in the same cart with the other girls and turned off the light. Age went into his own cart and got into his bed on the ground, it wasn't the best but it was all he needed. Luna then made her horn glow, and dark blue dust materialized from it and drifted over all of the ponies. As the dust touched each one, they instantly fell asleep and began to dream. Once the dust reached Age, he too fell right asleep, no matter how restless it might be. Luna then got down on her own hooves ad tried to get into a comfortable position, ready for whatever this predictably long quest will bring.

**Good night everyone…*casts the dark blue dust over all of you*. See you next time, which will be sooner, I promise. And yeah, Kevin, I think you can see I'm good, no need to worry! **


End file.
